Abstract:The aerobic bacteria were isolated from cooked meats in Guangzhou, identified by 16S rDNA amplification and biochemical identification, and the antimicrobial resistance to tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and the prevalence of corresponding resistant genes were investigated in this study. Of the 169 isolates collected from 40 samples, Enterobacter, Pseudomons and Citrobacter were found more frequently in these cooked meats. Fifty-five (32.54%) of all isolates were resistance to tetracycline and 40 (23.67%) of them were resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Among seven tetracycline resistance genes in this study, tetM (14.20%) was found in the highest frequency, followed by tetA (10.06%), tetS (5.92%)and tetB (2.96%), while sulI (10.65%) was observed in the highest frequency in trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance genes. Multiple antimicrobial resistance genes were detected in 19 of 169 (11.24%) isolates. The prevalence of resistance genes in isolates from cooked meats indicates that these bacteria might act as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance genes and play a role in the dissemination of resistance along the food chain.
