Antibiotic resistance and biofilm synthesis genes in airborne Staphylococcus in commercial aircraft cabins

Passenger air transport is one of the main routes for the global spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. This may be due to airborne pathogen transmission, which may occur within the commercial aircraft cabin. Because of this, we performed an investigation of aerial contamination by Staphylococcus species in 166 commercial aircraft and analyzed the presence of antibiotic resistance and biofilm synthesis genes in the collected isolates. Bacterial identification was performed by using species-specific primers and partial sequencing of 16S rRNA and tuf genes. The antibiotic resistance genes screened were: mecA, mecC, blaZ, ermA, ermB, ermC, and vanA. For biofilm synthesis, ica locus genes were screened. Fourteen species and four subspecies of Staphylococcus were detected in the analyzed samples. Except for mecC and vanA, all other genes were detected, including the mecA gene in Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus isolates. Only S. epidermidis isolates were positive for biofilm formation. To date, this is the first study to report a significant diversity of airborne Staphylococcus and the presence of airborne methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the cabin environment in commercial aircraft. Our results point to the importance of indoor air quality monitoring in the cabin environment as a preventive measure for the airborne spread of clinically significant pathogens.