Environmental pollution with antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria represents a significant ecological problem around the world. In this study, we wanted to identify multiple clinically important genotypes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in one of the largest populations of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla–H. albicilla) nesting in the protected area of Danube floodplains. This is the first such study of the species, covering the nesting community (20 of 21 active nests) of H. albicilla in one nature reserve. High resistance to fluoroquinolone was detected in one multidrug-resistant E. coli isolate, and this type of resistance was induced by the mutations on topoisomerase genes gyrA, parC, and parE. This isolate also carried resistance genes sul1 and tetB and the virulence gene iutA. Molecular typing by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) in combination with phylogenetic typing revealed high diversity among 11 E. coli isolates. With five different replicon types found (IncFIB, IncFIA, Inc FIC, IncY, and IncI1), the majority of isolates had multi-replicon status with a pronounced capacity of horizontal transfer of resistance and virulence genes. The coexistence of at least two virulence genes linked to development of a pathogenic phenotype and multi-replicon status in three E. coli isolates implies the potential for causing extra-intestinal infections, as well as horizontal transfer of pathogenic genetic determinants in the bacterial community. Resistance to synthetic antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones in an E. coli isolate from white-tailed eagle clearly points to the indirect anthropogenic sources of antibiotic pollution and antibiotic resistant bacteria present in wildlife food chains.

抗生素和抗生素抗性细菌造成的环境污染是世界范围内一个重大的生态问题。在这项研究中，我们想在多瑙河泛滥平原保护区筑巢的最大的白尾鹰 ( Haliaeetus albicilla–H.albicilla )种群之一中鉴定出多种临床上重要的大肠杆菌( E.coli )基因型。这是对该物种的第一次此类研究，涵盖了一个自然保护区中H. abicilla的筑巢群落（21 个活动巢中的 20 个）。在一种多重耐药大肠杆菌分离株中检测到对氟喹诺酮类药物的高耐药性，这种耐药性是由拓扑异构酶基因的突变引起的gyrA、parC和parE。该分离株还携带抗性基因sul1和tetB以及毒力基因iutA。通过随机扩增多态性 DNA (RAPD) 结合系统发育分型进行的分子分型揭示了 11 种大肠杆菌分离株之间的高度多样性。发现了五种不同的复制子类型（IncFIB、IncFIA、Inc FIC、IncY 和 IncI1），大多数分离株具有多复制子状态，具有显着的抗性和毒力基因水平转移能力。至少两种毒力基因的共存与三种大肠杆菌中致病表型和多复制子状态的发展有关分离株意味着可能引起肠外感染，以及致病性遗传决定因素在细菌群落中的水平转移。从白尾鹰分离的大肠杆菌中对氟喹诺酮类等合成抗生素的耐药性清楚地表明，抗生素污染的间接人为来源和野生动物食物链中存在的抗生素耐药细菌。