Antimicrobial Resistance in Pasteurella multocida Isolates from Bovine Mastitis Can Be Associated with Multidrug-Resistance-Mediating Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs)

Background/Objectives: Pasteurella multocida commonly colonizes the bovine respiratory tract and can occasionally cause intramammary infections. Here, eight P. multocida isolates from clinical cases of bovine mastitis were investigated for their molecular characteristics as well as phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) properties. Methods: The isolates originated from quarter milk samples obtained in Germany for diagnostic purposes. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) by broth microdilution was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Closed whole-genome sequences were generated by hybrid assembly of Illumina MiSeq short-reads and Oxford Nanopore MinION long-reads, followed by consecutive sequence analysis. Results: The P. multocida isolates belonged either to capsular:lipopolysaccharide type A:3 (n = 7) or A:6 (n = 1), and multi-locus sequence types 1 (n = 7) or 7 (n = 1). Seven isolates carried AMR genes, such as mef(C), mph(G), strA, strB, aphA1, aadA31, tet(H), tet(Y), floR, catA3, and sul2, as part of an integrative and conjugative element (ICE). These mobile genetic elements, 58,382–78,401 bp in size, were highly similar to the ICEs Tn7406 or Tn7407 that have been previously described in bovine Mannheimia haemolytica and P. multocida, respectively. Moreover, the isolates showed elevated minimal inhibitory concentrations corresponding to the identified AMR determinants. Conclusions: Molecular typing and ICE organization suggest the bovine respiratory tract as reservoir of the investigated mastitis-associated P. multocida. Horizontal cross-genus transfer of multidrug-resistance-mediating ICEs seems to occur under in vivo conditions among different pathogens from cattle in Germany, which underlines the importance of pathogen identification followed by AST for successful bovine mastitis therapy.