First and broad detection of three typical carbapenemase genes on the surfaces of commercially available spices worldwide and isolation of complete NDM-1 genes from black pepper, cumin, and clove

Abstract

The spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, particularly those producing carbapenemases, has become a major public health concern. The presence of carbapenemase genes has primarily been reported in clinical samples, whereas the presence of these genes in commercially available foods has insufficiently been studied despite its growing importance. The present study aimed to detect and characterize carbapenemase genes (blaNDM, blaIMP, blaKPC, and blaOXA-48-like) on the surfaces of commercially available spices using PCR to amplify conserved regions of these genes. It was revealed that DNAs of these genes are commonly present (13 genes/29 samples) on spices derived from at least 9 different countries. This is the first detection of any carbapenemase gene on eight spices (black pepper, cumin, clove, cardamom, mustard, caraway, parsley, and rosemary) among these. This is also the first detection of the blaIMP and blaNDM as well as the broad detection of the blaOXA-48-like on spices. We also isolated complete, functional blaNDM-1 genes from three spices (black pepper, cumin, and clove) up to the present.