Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2024; 26(3):338-344
To perform phylogenetic analysis to assess ongoing changes in population structure of Russian clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae.
The object of the study was 34 clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae obtained from dermatovenerological medical institutions of the Russian Federation in the period 2022–2023. The cultures were spread on chocolate agar with 1% ISOVitalex growth additive and 1% VCAT selective additive (Becton Dickinson, USA). Mass spectrometric studies were performed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer (Bruker Daltonics, Germany). Susceptibility testing of N. gonorrhoeae to 6 antimicrobials (penicillin, spectinomycin, ceftriaxone, tetracycline, azithromycin, and ciprofloxacin) was performed by serial dilutions in agar with determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations. Genomic DNA was extracted from N. gonorrhoeae cultures using the Proba-NK kit (DNA-Technology, Russia). Molecular typing of the strains was performed on MiSeq platform (Illumina, USA).
Genotyping of 34 N. gonorrhoeae strains from 4 Russian regions was performed using NG-STAR protocol to identify genotypic determinants associated with antibiotic resistance. A total of 19 sequence types included in 7 previously described clonal complexes (CC) were identified. The most representative CC among the studied strains were 199 and 427 (38.2% and 26,5%, respectively). Resistance to 6 antimicrobials associated with variability of penA, mtrR, porB, ponA, gyrA, parC and 23S rRNA gene fragments was detected in 44.1% of strains.
A number of molecular types of N. gonorrhoeae associated with phenotypic multidrug resistance was identified, which confirms the importance of comprehensive laboratory studies of clinical isolates to prevent spread of antimicrobial resistance in Russia.