title: Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) harbor multiantibiotic-resistant bacteria.
abstract: Whether wild-caught animals used for biomedical research carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria is not well studied. Thirteen- lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) are small mammals used to study hibernation. These animals are captured from the wild or are born in laboratory animal facilities to wild-caught mothers. Because microorganisms harbored by 13-lined ground squirrels may be pathogenic to their caretakers and other laboratory animals, learning more about antibiotic resistance in these animals could be useful. In this study, tetracycline- and chloramphenicol-resistant Morganella morganii and multidrug resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were isolated from the ceca of four 13-lined ground squirrels. These findings support further study of antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations in wild-caught mammals used as laboratory models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Cloud-Hansen
authors.forename: Katrina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Villiard
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Handelsman
authors.forename: Hannah V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Carey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006605:Hibernation; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000382:microbiology*