AbstractThe emergence of antibiotic resistance due to uncontrolled use of antibiotics in non-humans, poses a major threat for treating bacterial infections in humans. Added to this is the possibility of transfer of resistance from Gram-positive bacteria to Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, the possibility of resistance gene transfer from a non-human originated pathogenic bacterium to a pathogenic bacterium infecting humans needs evaluation. In this study, poultry litter samples collected from Tamil Nadu, India were screened for the presence of meropenem- and cefotaxime-resistantStaphylococcus sciuri. Standard microbiological techniques and 16S rRNA analysis were used to confirmS. sciuri. In the resistant isolates, resistance genes such asblaNDM-1,blaOXA-48-like,blaKPC,blaVIM,blaIMPandblaCTX-Mwere screened. Transconjugation studies were performed using donor,S. sciuriand recipient,E. coliAB1157 (Strr). A total of 26 meropenem-resistant and 24 cefotaxime resistantS. sciuriwere isolated from poultry litter samples. The presence ofblaNDM-1(n=2),blaIMP(n=8),blaCTX-M-9(n=5) andblaCTX-M-2(n=1) was detected. Transconjugation results confirmed thatS. sciuricarrying plasmid-borne resistance geneblaNDM-1conjugated toE. coliAB1157. The transferability of resistance genes fromS. sciuritoE. colicould be another possible reason for spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans.