{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T09:27:51Z","timestamp":1783416471501,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,9]],"date-time":"2022-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1670544000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda (CONACYT)","award":["932713"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["932713"]}]},{"name":"Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda (CONACYT)","award":["319752"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["319752"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli threaten public health due to their virulence factors and antibiotic resistance. Additionally, the virulence of this bacterium varies by region depending on environmental conditions, agricultural practices, and the use of antibiotics and disinfectants. However, there is limited research on the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant E. coli in agriculture. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance of E. coli isolated from the Honeydew melon production system in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Thirty-two E. coli strains were isolated from 445 samples obtained from irrigation water, harvested melons, the hands of packaging workers, boxes, and discarded melons. The resistance profile of the E. coli strains was carried out to 12 antibiotics used in antimicrobial therapeutics against this bacterium; a high level of resistance to ertapenem (100%) was detected, followed by meropenem (97%), and ampicillin (94%); 47% of the strains were classified as multidrug-resistant. It was possible to identify the prevalence of the extended-spectrum \u03b2-lactamase (ESBLs) gene blaTEM (15.6%), as well as the non-ESBL genes qepA (3.1%) and aac(6\u2032)lb-cr (3.1%). The E. coli strains isolated from irrigation water were significantly associated with resistance to aztreonam, cefuroxime, amikacin, and sulfamethoxazole\/trimethoprim. Irrigation water, packing workers\u2019 hands, and discarded melons showed a higher prevalence of antibiotic-resistant, ESBL, and non-ESBL genes of E. coli strains in a farm and packing facility of Honeydew melon in Hermosillo, Sonora.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics11121789","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,9]],"date-time":"2022-12-09T06:14:00Z","timestamp":1670566440000},"page":"1789","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant E. coli Strains in a Local Farm and Packing Facilities of Honeydew Melon in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9285-9896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yessica","family":"Enciso-Mart\u00ednez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Coordinaci\u00f3n de Tecnolog\u00eda de Alimentos de Origen Vegetal, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n en Alimentaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo, A.C., Hermosillo 83304, Mexico"},{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Qu\u00edmico-Biol\u00f3gicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Sonora, Unidad Regional Norte, Campus Caborca, Caborca 83621, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7864-1292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edwin","family":"Barrios-Villa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Qu\u00edmico-Biol\u00f3gicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Sonora, Unidad Regional Norte, Campus Caborca, Caborca 83621, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C\u00e9sar O.","family":"Sep\u00falveda-Moreno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Econ\u00f3mico-Administrativas, Universidad de Sonora, Unidad Regional Norte, Campus Caborca. H., Caborca 83621, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4493-8685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel G.","family":"Ballesteros-Monrreal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Qu\u00edmico-Biol\u00f3gicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Sonora, Unidad Regional Norte, Campus Caborca, Caborca 83621, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3275-5243","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dora E.","family":"Valencia-Rivera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Qu\u00edmico-Biol\u00f3gicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Sonora, Unidad Regional Norte, Campus Caborca, Caborca 83621, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7452-286X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gustavo A.","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez-Aguilar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Coordinaci\u00f3n de Tecnolog\u00eda de Alimentos de Origen Vegetal, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n en Alimentaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo, A.C., Hermosillo 83304, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2667-5455","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel A.","family":"Mart\u00ednez-T\u00e9llez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Coordinaci\u00f3n de Tecnolog\u00eda de Alimentos de Origen Vegetal, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n en Alimentaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo, A.C., Hermosillo 83304, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0691-6453","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jes\u00fas Fernando","family":"Ayala-Zavala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Coordinaci\u00f3n de Tecnolog\u00eda de Alimentos de Origen Vegetal, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n en Alimentaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo, A.C., Hermosillo 83304, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"CDC (2022). CDC Reports of Selected E. coli Outbreak Investigations."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khan, F.M., and Gupta, R. (2020). Escherichia coli (E. coli) as an indicator of fecal contamination in Groundwater: A Review. International Conference on Sustainable Development of Water and Environment, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-45263-6_21"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2018.00440","article-title":"Intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli: Insights for vaccine development","volume":"9","author":"Monterio","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1727","DOI":"10.1111\/1541-4337.12487","article-title":"Microbial contamination of fresh produce: What, where, and how?","volume":"18","author":"Richards","year":"2019","journal-title":"Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2018.10.006","article-title":"Phylogroups, pathotypes, biofilm formation and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolates in farms and packing facilities of tomato, jalape\u00f1o pepper and cantaloupe from Northern Mexico","volume":"290","author":"Heredia","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107713","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2020.107713","article-title":"Microbiological risk assessment of Turkey and chicken meat for consumer: Significant differences regarding multidrug resistance, mcr or presence of hybrid aEPEC\/ExPEC pathotypes of E. coli","volume":"123","author":"Herrera","year":"2021","journal-title":"Food Control"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vidal, A., Aguirre, L., Seminati, C., Tello, M., Redondo, N., Mart\u00edn, M., and Darwich, L. (2020). Antimicrobial resistance profiles and characterization of Escherichia coli strains from cases of neonatal diarrhea in spanish pig farms. Vet. Sci., 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci7020048"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1439-0450.2006.00967.x","article-title":"A Study of the transfer of tetracycline resistance genes between Escherichia coli in the intestinal tract of a mouse and a chicken model","volume":"53","author":"Hart","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Vet. Med. Ser. B"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.06.020","article-title":"Characterization of antibiotic resistant and pathogenic Escherichia coli in irrigation water and vegetables in household farms","volume":"257","author":"Silva","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) (2013). Scientific Opinion on the Risk Posed by Pathogens in Food of Non-Animal Origin. EFSA J., 11, 3025.","DOI":"10.2903\/j.efsa.2013.3025"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2019.12.025","article-title":"Increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli isolates from fresh vegetables and healthy food animals in South Korea","volume":"92","author":"Oh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1007\/s10096-006-0248-2","article-title":"Prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli: Overview of geographical, temporal, and methodological variations","volume":"26","author":"Erb","year":"2007","journal-title":"Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.12.005","article-title":"Assessment of region, farming system, irrigation source and sampling time as food safety risk factors for tomatoes","volume":"196","author":"Pagadala","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"19","article-title":"Preharvest farming practices impacting fresh produce safety","volume":"6","author":"Adhikari","year":"2018","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1788","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jiph.2021.10.025","article-title":"Identification of antimicrobial resistance genes and drug resistance analysis of Escherichia coli in the animal farm environment","volume":"14","author":"Peng","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Infect. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2014.10.042","article-title":"Environmental sampling for Listeria monocytogenes control in food processing facilities reveals three contamination scenarios","volume":"51","author":"Dalmasso","year":"2015","journal-title":"Food Control"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.11.024","article-title":"Assessment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 transference from soil to iceberg lettuce via a contaminated field coring harvesting knife","volume":"153","author":"Yang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1006\/rtph.1998.1271","article-title":"Regulatory Action criteria for filth and other extraneous materials","volume":"28","author":"Olsen","year":"1998","journal-title":"Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1653\/024.093.0211","article-title":"Wild Florida house flies (Musca domestica) as carriers of pathogenic bacteria","volume":"93","author":"Butler","year":"2010","journal-title":"Florida Entomol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6053","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.01236-15","article-title":"Environmental factors associated with high fly densities and diarrhea in Vellore, India","volume":"81","author":"Babji","year":"2015","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1111\/jam.12373","article-title":"Examination of factors for use as potential predictors of human enteric pathogen survival in soil","volume":"116","author":"Erickson","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Appl. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"518","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-013-1938-9","article-title":"Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in soils under different land use types","volume":"21","author":"Wang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3687","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.69.7.3687-3694.2003","article-title":"Role of nonhost environments in the lifestyles of Salmonella and Escherichia coli","volume":"69","author":"Winfield","year":"2003","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2015.08.037","article-title":"Disinfection efficacy and mechanism of slightly acidic electrolyzed water on Staphylococcus aureus in pure culture","volume":"60","author":"Ding","year":"2016","journal-title":"Food Control"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"James, J. (2006). Overview of Microbial Hazards in Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Operations. Microbial Hazard Identification in Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.","DOI":"10.1002\/0470007761"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1128\/microbiolspec.ARBA-0026-2017","article-title":"Antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli","volume":"6","author":"Poirel","year":"2018","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"295","DOI":"10.2147\/IDR.S226215","article-title":"Virulence and resistance determinants of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains isolated from pregnant and non-pregnant women from two states in Mexico","volume":"13","year":"2020","journal-title":"Infect. Drug Resist."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3953","DOI":"10.1128\/AAC.00915-06","article-title":"Prevalence in the United States of aac(6\u2032)-Ib-cr encoding a ciprofloxacin-modifying enzyme","volume":"50","author":"Park","year":"2006","journal-title":"Antimicrob. Agents Chemother."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.4315\/0362-028X.JFP-11-237","article-title":"Observational study of the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter spp. from different poultry production systems in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa","volume":"75","author":"Bester","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Food Prot."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5649","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1503141112","article-title":"Global trends in antimicrobial use in food animals","volume":"112","author":"Brower","year":"2015","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2013.00004","article-title":"Evolutionary consequences of antibiotic use for the resistome, mobilome and microbial pangenome","volume":"4","author":"Gillings","year":"2013","journal-title":"Front. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Manyi-Loh, C., Mamphweli, S., Meyer, E., and Okoh, A. (2018). Antibiotic use in agriculture and its consequential resistance in environmental sources: Potential public health implications. Molecules, 23.","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules23040795"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Blanco, P., Hernando-Amado, S., Reales-Calderon, J., Corona, F., Lira, F., Alcalde-Rico, M., Bernardini, A., Sanchez, M., and Martinez, J. (2016). Bacterial multidrug efflux pumps: Much more than antibiotic resistance determinants. Microorganisms, 4.","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms4010014"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1128\/microbiolspec.VMBF-0016-2015","article-title":"Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance","volume":"4","author":"Munita","year":"2016","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"312956","article-title":"Assessment of bacterial antibiotic resistance transfer in the gut","volume":"2011","author":"Krogfelt","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amsu.2020.04.044","article-title":"Widodo Detection of class 1 integron-associated gene cassettes and tetracycline resistance genes in Escherichia coli isolated from ready to eat vegetables","volume":"55","author":"Mohamed","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ann. Med. Surg."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2018.04.037","article-title":"Escherichia coli hyperepidemic clone ST410-A harboring blaCTX-M-15 isolated from fresh vegetables in a municipal market in Quito-Ecuador","volume":"280","author":"Barba","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"406","DOI":"10.1080\/09603123.2020.1769039","article-title":"High rates of antibiotic resistance and biofilm production in Escherichia coli isolates from food products of animal and vegetable origins in Tunisia: A real threat to human health","volume":"32","author":"Badi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Health Res."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s43170-020-00001-y","article-title":"Antibiotic use on crops in low and middle-income countries based on recommendations made by agricultural advisors","volume":"1","author":"Taylor","year":"2020","journal-title":"CABI Agric. Biosci."},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"FAO (2016). El Plan de Acci\u00f3n de la FAO Sobre la Resistencia a Los Antimicrobianos 2016\u20132020, FAO."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M\u00e9ndez-Moreno, E., Caporal-Hernandez, L., Mendez-Pfeiffer, P.A., Enciso-Martinez, Y., De la Rosa L\u00f3pez, R., Valencia, D., Arenas-Hern\u00e1ndez, M.M.P., Ballesteros-Monrreal, M.G., and Barrios-Villa, E. (2022). Characterization of diarreaghenic Escherichia coli strains isolated from healthy donors, including a triple hybrid strain. Antibiotics, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics11070833"},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"Sambrook, J. (2012). Molecular Cloning a Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Carre\u00f3n Le\u00f3n, E.A. (2019). Estudio Molecular de la Resistencia y Virulencia de Cepas de Escherichia coli Productoras de \u03b2-lactamasas de Espectro Extendido Aisladas de Vegetales Crudo. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Benem\u00e9rita Universidad Auton\u00f3ma de Puebla]."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2017.08.032","article-title":"A highly specific Escherichia coli qPCR and its comparison with existing methods for environmental waters","volume":"126","author":"Walker","year":"2017","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ballesteros-Monrreal, M.G., Arenas-Hern\u00e1ndez, M.M.P., Barrios-Villa, E., Juarez, J., \u00c1lvarez-Ainza, M.L., Taboada, P., De la Rosa-L\u00f3pez, R., Bolado-Mart\u00ednez, E., and Valencia, D. (2021). Bacterial morphotypes as important trait for uropathogenic E. coli diagnostic; a virulence-phenotype-phylogeny study. Microorganisms, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms9112381"},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"CLSI (2021). Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, CLSI. [31st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-0691.2011.03570.x","article-title":"Multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant and pandrug-resistant bacteria: An international expert proposal for interim standard definitions for acquired resistance","volume":"18","author":"Magiorakos","year":"2012","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Garza-Gonz\u00e1lez, E., Bocanegra-Ibarias, P., Bobadilla-del-Valle, M., Ponce-de-Le\u00f3n-Gardu\u00f1o, L.A., Esteban-Kenel, V., Silva-S\u00e1nchez, J., Garza-Ramos, U., Barrios-Camacho, H., L\u00f3pez-J\u00e1come, L.E., and Colin-Castro, C.A. (2021). Drug resistance phenotypes and genotypes in Mexico in representative gram-negative species: Results from the infivar network. PLoS ONE, 16.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0248614"},{"key":"ref_49","first-page":"515","article-title":"Prevalence of qnr and aac(6\u2032)-Ib-cr genes in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Imam Hussein hospital in Tehran","volume":"40","author":"Eftekhar","year":"2015","journal-title":"Iran J. Med. Sci."}],"container-title":["Antibiotics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-6382\/11\/12\/1789\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:37:11Z","timestamp":1760146631000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-6382\/11\/12\/1789"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,9]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12]]}},"alternative-id":["antibiotics11121789"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/antibiotics11121789","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-6382"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-6382","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,9]]}}}