We evaluated the primary resistance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) to routinely used antibiotics in Cambodia, an unexplored topic in the country, and assessed next-generation sequencing’s (NGS) potential to discover genetic resistance determinants. Fifty-five H. pylori strains were successfully cultured and screened for antibiotic susceptibility using agar dilution. Genotypic analysis was performed using NGS data with a CLC genomic workbench. PlasmidSeeker was used to detect plasmids. The correlation between resistant genotypes and phenotypes was evaluated statistically. Resistances to metronidazole (MTZ), levofloxacin (LVX), clarithromycin (CLR), and amoxicillin (AMX) were 96.4%, 67.3%, 25.5%, and 9.1%, respectively. No resistance to tetracycline (TET) was observed. Multi-drug resistance affected 76.4% of strains. No plasmids were found, but genetic determinants of resistance to CLR, LVX, and AMX were 23S rRNA (A2146G and A2147G), GyrA (N87K and D91Y/N/G), and pbp1 (P473L), respectively. No determinants were genetically linked to MTZ or TET resistance. There was high concordance between resistant genotypes and phenotypes for AMX, LVX, and CLR. We observed high antibiotic resistance rates of CLR, MTZ, and LVX, emphasizing the need for periodic evaluation and alternative therapies in Cambodia. NGS showed high capability for detecting genetic resistance determinants and potential for implementation in local treatment policies.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) related chronic gastritis is a well-known major etiological factor for gastric cancer development. However, H. pylori-negative gastritis (HpN) is not well described. We aimed to examine gastric mucosal microbiota in HpN compared to H. pylori-positive gastritis (HpP) and H. pylori-negative non-gastritis group (control). Here, we studied 11 subjects with HpN, 40 with HpP and 24 controls. We performed endoscopy with six gastric biopsies. Comparison groups were defined based on strict histological criteria for the disease and H. pylori diagnosis. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to profile the gastric microbiota according to comparison groups. These results demonstrate that the HpP group had significantly lower bacterial richness by the operational taxonomic unit (OTU) counts, and Shannon and Simpson indices as compared to HpN or controls. The linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis showed the enrichment of Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria at phylum level in the HpN group. In the age-adjusted multivariate analysis, Streptococcus sp. and Haemophilus parainfluenzae were at a significantly increased risk for HpN (odds ratio 18.9 and 12.3, respectively) based on abundance. Treponema sp. was uniquely found in HpN based on occurrence. In this paper, we conclude that Streptococcus sp., Haemophilus parainfluenzae and Treponema sp. are candidate pathogenic bacterial species for HpN. These results if confirmed may have important clinical implications.

We evaluated biofilm formation of clinical Helicobacter pylori isolates from Indonesia and its relation to antibiotic resistance. We determined the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of amoxicillin, clarithromycin, levofloxacin, metronidazole and tetracycline by the Etest to measure the planktonic susceptibility of 101 H. pylori strains. Biofilms were quantified by the crystal violet method. The minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) was obtained by measuring the survival of bacteria in a biofilm after exposure to antibiotics. The majority of the strains formed a biofilm (93.1% (94/101)), including weak (75.5%) and strong (24.5%) biofilm-formers. Planktonic resistant and sensitive strains produced relatively equal amounts of biofilms. The resistance proportion, shown by the MBEC measurement, was higher in the strong biofilm group for all antibiotics compared to the weak biofilm group, especially for clarithromycin (p = 0.002). Several cases showed sensitivity by the MIC measurement, but resistance according to the MBEC measurements (amoxicillin, 47.6%; tetracycline, 57.1%; clarithromycin, 19.0%; levofloxacin, 38.1%; and metronidazole 38.1%). Thus, biofilm formation may increase the survival of H. pylori and its resistance to antibiotics. Biofilm-related antibiotic resistance should be evaluated with antibiotic susceptibility.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is increasingly needed to guide the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) treatment but remains laborious and unavailable in most African countries. To assess the clinical relevance of bacterial whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based methods for predicting drug susceptibility in African H. pylori, 102 strains isolated from the Democratic Republic of Congo were subjected to the phenotypic AST and next-generation sequencing (NGS). WGS was used to screen for the occurrence of genotypes encoding antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We noted the broad-spectrum AMR of H. pylori (rates from 23.5 to 90.0%). A WGS-based method validated for variant discovery in AMR-related genes (discovery rates of 100%) helped in identifying mutations of key genes statistically related to the phenotypic AMR. These included mutations often reported in Western and Asian populations and, interestingly, several putative AMR-related new genotypes in the pbp1A (e.g., T558S, F366L), gyrA (e.g., A92T, A129T), gyrB (e.g., R579C), and rdxA (e.g., R131_K166del) genes. WGS showed high performance for predicting AST phenotypes, especially for amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and levofloxacin (Youden’s index and Cohen’s Kappa > 0.80). Therefore, WGS is an accurate alternative to the phenotypic AST that provides substantial decision-making information for public health policy makers and clinicians in Africa, while providing insight into AMR mechanisms for researchers.

Mongolia has a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and the second highest incidence of gastric cancer worldwide. Thus, investigating the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and its underlying genetic mechanism is necessary. We isolated 361 H. pylori strains throughout Mongolia. Agar dilution assays were used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of five antibiotics; amoxicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, levofloxacin, and minocycline. The genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance were identified with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and the CLC Genomics Workbench. The resistance to metronidazole, levofloxacin, clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and minocycline was 78.7%, 41.3%, 29.9%, 11.9% and 0.28%, respectively. Multidrug resistance was identified in 51.3% of the isolates investigated which were further delineated into 9 antimicrobial resistance profiles. A number of known antibiotic resistance mutations were identified including rdxA, frxA (missense, frameshift), gyrA (N87K, A88P, D91G/N/Y), 23S rRNA (A2143G), pbp1A (N562Y), and 16S rRNA (A928C). Furthermore, we detected previously unreported mutations in pbp1A (L610*) and the 23S rRNA gene (A1410G, C1707T, A2167G, C2248T, and C2922T). The degree of antibiotic resistance was high, indicating the insufficiency of standard triple therapy in Mongolia.

Helicobacter pylori disturbs the stomach lining during long-term colonization of its human host, with sequelae including ulcers and gastric cancer^1,2. Numerous H. pylori virulence factors have been identified, showing extensive geographic variation¹. Here we identify a ‘Hardy’ ecospecies of H. pylori that shares the ancestry of ‘Ubiquitous’ H. pylori from the same region in most of the genome but has nearly fixed single-nucleotide polymorphism differences in 100 genes, many of which encode outer membrane proteins and host interaction factors. Most Hardy strains have a second urease, which uses iron as a cofactor rather than nickel³, and two additional copies of the vacuolating cytotoxin VacA. Hardy strains currently have a limited distribution, including in Indigenous populations in Siberia and the Americas and in lineages that have jumped from humans to other mammals. Analysis of polymorphism data implies that Hardy and Ubiquitous coexisted in the stomachs of modern humans since before we left Africa and that both were dispersed around the world by our migrations. Our results also show that highly distinct adaptive strategies can arise and be maintained stably within bacterial populations, even in the presence of continuous genetic exchange between strains.