A high carriage rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with the mecC gene (mecC-MRSA) has been described among Wild European hedgehogs (Europeaus erineaus). Due to this frequent occurrence, it has been suggested that hedgehogs could be a natural reservoir for mecC-MRSA. However, the reason why hedgehogs carry mecC-MRSA remains unknown, but it has been hypothesized that mecC-MRSA could have evolved on the skin of hedgehogs due to the co-occurrence with antibiotic producing dermatophytes. The aim of this pilot-study was therefore to investigate if hedgehogs in Sweden carry Trichophyton spp. and to provide evidence that these dermatophytes are able to produce penicillin or similar substances. In addition, the study aimed to identify if dermatophytes co-occurred with mecC-MRSA. Samples were collected from hedgehogs (Europeaus erineaus) that were euthanized or died of natural causes. All samples were screened for dermatophytes and mecC-MRSA using selective cultivation methods. Suspected isolates were characterized using PCR-based methods, genome sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. Identification of penicillin was performed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In total 23 hedgehogs were investigated, and it was shown that two carried Trichophyton erinacei producing benzyl-penicillin, and that these hedgehogs also carried mecC-MRSA. The study also showed that 60% of the hedgehogs carried mecC-MRSA. The pilot-study demonstrated that Trichophyton erinacei, isolated from Swedish hedgehogs, can produce benzylpenicillin and that these benzylpenicillin-producing T. erinacei co-occurred with mecC-MRSA. The study also reconfirmed the high occurrence of mecC-MRSA among hedgehogs.

中文翻译：

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在欧洲刺猬身上携带 mecC 基因的产苄青霉素毛癣菌和耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌——一项初步研究

在欧洲野生刺猬 (Europeaus erineaus) 中描述了具有 mecC 基因 (mecC-MRSA) 的耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌的高携带率。由于这种频繁发生，有人认为刺猬可能是 mecC-MRSA 的天然宿主。然而，刺猬携带 mecC-MRSA 的原因尚不清楚，但有人假设 mecC-MRSA 可能是由于与产生抗生素的皮肤癣菌共存而在刺猬的皮肤上进化而来的。因此，这项试点研究的目的是调查瑞典的刺猬是否携带毛癣菌属。并提供证据证明这些皮肤癣菌能够产生青霉素或类似物质。此外，该研究旨在确定皮肤癣菌是否与 mecC-MRSA 共同发生。从被安乐死或死于自然原因的刺猬 (Europeaus erineaus) 收集样品。使用选择性培养方法筛选所有样品的皮肤癣菌和 mecC-MRSA。使用基于 PCR 的方法、基因组测序和生物信息学分析对疑似分离株进行了表征。青霉素的鉴定采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法。总共调查了 23 只刺猬，结果表明其中两只携带产生苄青霉素的毛癣菌，并且这些刺猬还携带 mecC-MRSA。该研究还表明，60% 的刺猬携带 mecC-MRSA。试点研究表明，从瑞典刺猬中分离出的毛癣菌可以产生苄青霉素，而这些产生苄青霉素的 T. erinacei 与 mecC-MRSA 共同发生。该研究还再次证实了刺猬中 mecC-MRSA 的高发生率。