Application of the Intelligent High-Throughput Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing/Phage Screening System and Lar Index of Antimicrobial Resistance

Summary

Here we introduce the principle, structure, and instruction of the intelligent high-throughput antimicrobial sensitivity testing/phage screening system. Its application is illustrated by using Salmonella isolated from poultry in Shandong, China, as an example. The Lar index is calculated, and its significance in evaluating antimicrobial resistance is discussed comprehensively.

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and phage high-throughput screening for resistant bacteria and to reduce the detection cost, an intelligent high-throughput AST/phage screening system, including a 96-dot matrix inoculator, image acquisition converter, and corresponding software, was developed according to AST criteria and the breakpoints of resistance (R) formulated by the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). AST and statistics of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) distributions (from R/8 to 8R) of 1,500 Salmonella strains isolated from poultry in Shandong, China, against 10 antimicrobial agents were carried out by the intelligent high-throughput AST/phage screening system. The Lar index, meaning "less antibiosis, less resistance and residual until little antibiosis", was obtained by calculating the weighted average of each MIC and dividing by R. This approach improves accuracy in comparison with using the prevalence of resistance to characterize the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) degree of highly resistant strains. For the strains of Salmonella with high AMR, lytic phages were efficiently screened from the phage library by this system, and the lysis spectrum was computed and analyzed. The results showed that the intelligent high-throughput AST/phage screening system was operable, accurate, highly efficient, inexpensive, and easy to maintain. Combined with the Shandong veterinary antimicrobial resistance monitoring system, the system was suitable for scientific research and clinical detection related to AMR.

Introduction

As antimicrobial agents have been widely used to prevent bacterial infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global public health problem¹. Combating AMR is the current main mission of monitoring AMR of epidemiological pathogens and synergistic therapy of sensitive antimicrobial agents and lytic bacteriophages².

In vitro antimicrobial sensitivity testing (AST) is the mainstay for monitoring therapy and detecting the level of AMR. It is an important part of antimicrobial pharmacology and the critical basis for clinical medication. The Clinical and Laboratory Stan....

Protocol

The Salmonella strains used in this study were collected from poultry in Shandong, China, after obtaining approval from the Biosafety Committee of the Institute of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China.

1. Application of the intelligent high-throughput AST system⁸

1. Inoculum preparation
   1. Incubate the quality control organism Escherichia coli and 93 Salmonella strains to be tested for AST on Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) plates for 16-18 h at 37 °C³.
   2. Prepare the inoculum o....

Results

Following the protocol of the intelligent high-throughput AST system, its application was illustrated by Salmonella from poultry in Shandong, China, as an example.

The growth of Salmonella strains on agar plates with ampicillin (R of 32 µg/mL) at concentrations from 2 to 256 µg/mL determined by the image acquisition converter is shown in Figure 3. The horizontal 1^st well A1 was the negative control and showed no colony growth; A2 and A.......

Discussion

The agar dilution method has been well-established and used widely. The principle of the high-throughput AST system was that of the agar dilution method. One of the critical steps within the protocol was the accurate high throughput transfer of 96 inocula at one time, which was performed multiple times in a row. To complete this critical step, the pins of the 96-dot matrix inoculator were uniform and very smooth. The natural deposition of each pin was a volume of approximately 2 µL, which aggregated into small dropl.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
96 well  culture plate	Beijing lanjieke Technology Co., Ltd	11510
96-dot matrix AST image acquisition system	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright
96-dot matrix inoculator	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	N/A	Patented product
Agar	Qingdao hi tech Industrial Park Haibo Biotechnology Co., Ltd	HB8274-1
Amikacin	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	A857053
Amoxicillin	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	A822839
Ampicillin	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	A830931
Analytical balance	Sartorius	BSA224S
Automated calculation software for Lar index of AMR	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright
Bacteria Salmonella strains	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	N/A	Animal origin
Bacterial resistance Lar index certification management system V1.0	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright
Ceftiofur	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	C873619
Ciprofloxacin	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	C824343
Clavulanic acid	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	C824181
Clean worktable	Suzhou purification equipment Co., Ltd	SW-CJ-2D
Colistin sulfate	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	C805491
Culture plate	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	N/A	Patented product
Doxycycline	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	D832390
Enrofloxacin	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	E809130
Filter 0.22 μm	Millipore	SLGP033RB
Florfenicol	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	F809685
Gentamicin	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	G810322
Glass bottle 50 mL	Xuzhou Qianxing Glass Technology Co., Ltd	QX-7
High-throughput resistance detection system V1.0	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright
Image acquisition converter	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	N/A	Patented product
Meropenem	Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	M861173
Mueller-Hinton agar	Qingdao hi tech Industrial Park Haibo Biotechnology Co., Ltd	HB6232
Petri dish 60 mm x 15 mm	Qingdao Jindian biochemical equipment Co., Ltd	16021-1
Petri dish 90 mm x 15 mm	Qingdao Jindian biochemical equipment Co., Ltd	16001-1
Salmonella phages	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	N/A
Shaker incubator	Shanghai Minquan Instrument Co., Ltd	MQD-S2R
Turbidimeter	Shanghai XingBai Biotechnology Co., Ltd	F-TC2015
Varms base type library system V1.0	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright
Vertical high-pressure steam sterilizer	Shanghai Shen'an medical instrument factory	LDZX-75L
Veterinary pathogen resistance testing management system	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright
Veterinary resistance cloud monitoring and phage control platform V1.0	Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences	In-house software copyright