Latin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 2025

October 7 - 9, 2025

Puerto Varas, Chile

GENOMIC AND PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO ß?? ?LACTAMASES PRODUCED BY A Chryseobacterium SP. STRAIN ISOLATED FROM A CHILEAN FRESHWATER SALMONID FARM

Claudio D. Miranda* , Christopher Concha,  Rubén Avendaño-Herrera

 

Departamento de Acuicultura

 Universidad Católica del Norte,  Larrondo 1281,  Coquimbo, Chile

cdmirand@ucn.cl



 Many representatives belonging to the Flavobacteriaceae family have a very relevant role as fish pathogens, and the genus Chryseobacterium has been frequently isolated as the causative agent of disease ocurring in freshwater fish and have been previously isolated from diseased farmed salmonids in Chile. T his study characterize d  using whole-genome sequencing  and phenotypic analysis, two β-lactamases belonging to  the CIA  and IND groups , which  catalyzes the degradation of  third-generation cephalosporin and carbapenem antimicrobials, respectively,  produced by the resistant strain FP29 (Fig. 1) , recovered from fin lesion samples of diseased Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, during one Flavobacteriosis outbreak occurred in  a  freshwater farm located in Southern Chile.

 The FP29 strain was identified as Chryseobacterium sp. by using biochemical tests and by whole genome comparison analysis, using the PATRIC bioinformatics platform, observing that is genetically most closely related to the reference strain Chryseobacterium vrystaatense , showing an OrthoANI value of 88.96%. Amino acid sequences of the BlaCIA and BlaIND proteins synthesized by the FP29 strain exhibited highest identities to Bla CIA-4 and BlaIND-4 (71.92% and 80.17%, respectively) (Fig. 2) .  It was confirmed that the detected BlaCIA and BlaIND proteins conferred  a resistance phenotype , and FP29 strain exhibited resistance to the 3rd -generation cephalosporins cefotaxime , ceftriaxone and caftazidime, as well as resistance to the carbapenems imipenem and meropenem. In addition, the  activity of cephalosporine cefotaxime (CTX)  was inhibited by the clavulanic acid (CTL) (Fig. 3A) ,  whereas the activity of metallo -β-lactam meropenem (MRP) was inhibited by dipicolinic acid (MRPDP) (Fig. 3B).  In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrated, for the first time, the simultaneous production of the BlaCIA  and BlaIND β –lactamases by a Chryseobacterium strain isolated from reared Atlantic salmon affected with Flavobacteriosis in Chilean freshwater salmonid farming, reinforcing the hypothesis that this  taxonomic group may serve as an important environmental reservoir of these enzymes .