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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global problem with extremely complex epidemiology involving the direct and indirect transmission of antibiotic resistant pathogens and mobile genetic elements between humans, animals, and the environment. AMR is, therefore, recognized as a ‘One Health’ issue. Data that describe AMR prevalence and trends are required to enable the judicious and prudent use of antimicrobials in animals, which has implications both from veterinary and animal welfare aspects as well as from a zoonotic and public health perspective. Horses are a potential reservoir of AMR for humans due to close human–animal contact, as was demonstrated with shared human and horse methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains causing outbreaks in equine hospitals. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, considered as clinically and economically important to the AMR burden in human and veterinary medicine, has been reported in both community and clinic equine populations. Strains of Enterobacteriaceae pose a major worldwide threat due to the geographical expansion of ESBL-producing clones as well as the horizontal interspecies dissemination of ESBL-encoding plasmids and genes. In human medicine, ESBL-E infection is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, delay of targeted appropriate treatment, and higher costs. These issues also need to be addressed in horses. This Special Issue on AMR in horses encompasses several papers that describe the prevalence, risk factors, and molecular data on MDR bacteria in healthy horses in Canada, Japan, Spain, and Israel, in addition to papers that describe the clinical impact of MDR bacteria in diseased horses in Austria, USA, France and Israel.

equine --- foal --- ESBL-E --- antibiotic resistance --- shedding --- umbilical infection --- risk factors --- healthy horses --- staphylococci --- MSSA --- ST1640 --- lukPQ --- ESBL --- Escherichia coli --- Enterobacteriaceae --- antimicrobial resistance --- CTX-M-1 --- SHV --- farm --- ESBL-E acquisition --- AmpC --- Klebsiella pneumoniae --- antibiotic-resistance --- β-lactamases --- horses --- extended-spectrum β-lactamase --- AmpC β-lactamase --- horse --- multidrug resistance --- beta-lactamase --- cephalosporinase --- microbiota --- North America --- horse pathogens --- epidemiology --- n/a

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Biofilms are multicellular sessile microbial communities embedded in hydrated extracellular polymeric matrices. Their formation is common in microbial life in most environments, whereas those formed on food-processing surfaces are of considerable interest in the context of food hygiene. Biofilm cells express properties that are distinct from planktonic ones, in particular, due to their notorious resistance to antimicrobial agents. Thus, a special feature of biofilms is that once they have developed, they are hard to eradicate, even when careful sanitization procedures are regularly applied. A large amount of ongoing research has investigated how and why surface-attached microbial communities develop such resistance, and several mechanisms can be acknowledged, such as heterogeneous metabolic activity, cell adaptive responses, diffusion limitations, genetic and functional diversification, and microbial interactions. The articles contained in this Special Issue deal with biofilms of some important food-related bacteria (including common pathogens such as Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as spoilage-causing spore-forming bacilli), providing novel insights into their resistance mechanisms and implications, together with novel methods (e.g., use of protective biofilms formed by beneficial bacteria, enzymes) that could be used to overcome resistance and thus improve the safety of our food supply and protect public health.

Salmonella --- biofilm --- morpothypes --- stainless steel --- food residues --- tomato --- poultry --- milk --- biofilms --- DNase I --- pre-treatment --- post-treatment --- mixed species biofilm --- disintegration of matrix --- antibiofilm methods --- bacteriocins --- biocides --- food industry --- food safety --- Listeria monocytogenes --- resistance --- lactic acid bacteria --- probiotic potential --- staphylococci --- mastitis --- dairy industry --- Bacillus species --- biofilm derived spores --- cleaning-in-place --- disinfecting effect --- disinfectants --- transcriptome --- foodborne pathogens --- dairy bacilli --- stress adaptation --- disinfection --- biocontrol --- enzymes

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The worldwide dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, particularly those resistant to last-resource antibiotics, is a common problem to which no immediate solution is foreseen. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of antimicrobial-resistant "priority pathogens", which include a group of microorganisms with high-level resistance to multiple drugs, named ESKAPE pathogens, comprising vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and VRSA), extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) or carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter spp. These bacteria also have the ability to produce several virulence factors, which have a major influence on the outcomes of infectious diseases. Bacterial resistance and virulence are interrelated, since antibiotics pressure may influence bacterial virulence gene expression and, consequently, infection pathogenesis. Additionally, some virulence factors contribute to an increased resistance ability, as observed in biofilm-producing strains. The surveillance of important resistant and virulent clones and associated mobile genetic elements is essential to decision making in terms of mitigation measures to be applied for the prevention of such infections in both human and veterinary medicine, being also relevant to address the role of natural environments as important components of the dissemination cycle of these strains.

biocide --- antibiotic resistance --- cross-resistance --- aminoglycoside --- adaptation --- biofilm --- pyruvate cycle --- mastitis --- staphylococci --- virulence factors --- genes --- antimicrobial resistance --- infant --- newborn --- bacteremia --- Gram-negative bacteria --- drug resistance --- microbial --- mortality --- microcosm --- Aeromonas --- climate change --- temperature --- pH --- water --- Acinetobacter baumannii --- virulence --- whole-genome sequencing --- international high-risk clones --- genomic epidemiology --- dogs --- Escherichia coli --- ESBL --- CTX-M-15 --- CTX-M-1 --- CTX-M-32 --- CTX-M-55 --- CTX-M-14 --- qAmpC --- CMY-2 --- camel --- domestic --- milk --- virulence genes --- extended-spectrum β-lactamases --- biofilm formation --- Pseudomonas aeruginosa --- carbapenem resistance --- KPC-2 --- plasmid --- diabetic foot infections --- Staphylococcus aureus --- subinhibitory concentrations --- virulence-related genes

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Microbial virulence factors encompass a wide range of molecules produced by pathogenic microorganisms, enhancing their ability to evade their host defenses and cause disease. This broad definition comprises secreted products such as toxins, enzymes, exopolysaccharides, as well as cell surface structures such as capsules, lipopolysaccharides, glyco- and lipoproteins. Intracellular changes in metabolic regulatory networks, governed by protein sensors/regulators and non-coding regulatory RNAs, are also known to contribute to virulence. Furthermore, some secreted microbial products have the ability to enter the host cell and manipulate their machinery, contributing to the success of the infection. The knowledge, at the molecular level, of the biology of microbial pathogens and their virulence factors is central in the development of novel therapeutic molecules and strategies to combat microbial infections. The present collection comprises state of the art research and review papers on virulence factors and mechanisms of a wide range of bacterial and fungal pathogens for humans, animals, and plants, thus reflecting the impact of microorganisms in health and economic human activities, and the importance of the topic.

Aeromonas hydrophila --- LysR-family --- ΔlahS --- global regulator --- virulence --- Sclerotinia sclerotiorum --- SsNsd1 --- compound appressorium --- two-dimensional electrophoresis --- proteomics analysis --- differential expression proteins --- cystic fibrosis --- Pseudomonas aeruginosa --- Burkholderia cepacia complex --- small noncoding regulatory RNAs --- pathogenicity --- usg --- truA --- Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium --- oxidative stress --- intracellular survival --- pathogenomics --- coagulase-negative staphylococci --- virulence factors --- whole genome sequencing --- autotransporter --- covalent labeling --- bacterial surface protein --- SpyCatcher --- topology mapping --- virulence factor --- Candida --- host-pathogen interaction --- biofilm formation --- morphology --- immune evasion --- Trueperella pyogenes --- pyolysin --- infection --- immune response --- Actinomycetales --- Bordetella pertussis --- Hfq --- omics analysis --- T3SS --- serum resistance --- solute-binding proteins --- phytoplasma --- effector protein --- apple --- apple proliferation --- bacteria --- blood–brain barrier --- blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier --- meningitis --- outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) --- Candida albicans --- antimicrobial peptides --- complement --- interspecies interactions --- inter-kingdom protection --- fungicidal activity --- fluconazole --- hyphae --- antimicrobial peptide --- EDTA --- primary ciliary dyskinesia --- anti-virulence --- sputum --- chronic infection --- Enterobacterales --- Klebsiella --- Enterobacter --- Citrobacter --- antibiotic resistance --- biofilm --- SPATEs --- UTIs --- cytotoxicity --- serine proteases --- 5637 bladder cells --- mucin --- gelatin --- actin --- protease Lon --- Dickeya solani --- plant pathogen --- motility --- type III secretion system --- resistance to stress --- lon expression --- pectinolytic enzymes --- gene expression --- manipulation --- inflammation --- persistence --- replicative niche --- actin proteolysis --- metalloproteinases --- protease ECP 32 --- grimelysin --- protealysin --- bacterial invasion --- microbial virulence factors --- bacterial pathogens --- fungal pathogens