Antibiotic resistance is rapidly spreading via the horizontal transfer of resistance genes in mobile genetic elements. While plasmids are key drivers of this process, few integrative phages encode ...antibiotic resistance genes. Here, we find that phage-plasmids, elements that are both phages and plasmids, often carry antibiotic resistance genes. We found 60 phage-plasmids with 184 antibiotic resistance genes, providing resistance for broad-spectrum-cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and colistin. These genes are in a few hot spots, seem to have been cotranslocated with transposable elements, and are often in class I integrons, which had not been previously found in phages. We tried to induce six phage-plasmids with resistance genes (including four with resistance integrons) and succeeded in five cases. Other phage-plasmids and integrative prophages were coinduced in these experiments. As a proof of concept, we focused on a P1-like element encoding an extended spectrum β-lactamase, blaCTX-M-55. After induction, we confirmed that it is capable of infecting and converting four other E. coli strains. Its reinduction led to the further conversion of a sensitive strain, confirming that it is a fully functional phage. This study shows that phage-plasmids carry a large diversity of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes that they can transfer across bacteria. As plasmids, these elements seem plastic and capable of acquiring genes from other plasmids. As phages, they may provide novel paths of transfer for resistance genes because they can infect bacteria that are distant in time and space from the original host. As a matter of alarm, they may also mediate transfer to other types of phages. IMPORTANCE The dissemination of antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to global health. Here, we show that a group of temperate bacterial viruses (phages), termed phage-plasmids, commonly encode different and multiple types of resistance genes of high clinical importance, often in integrons. This is unexpected, as phages typically do not carry resistance genes and, hence, do not confer upon their hosts resistance via infection and genome integration. Our experiments with phage-plasmids isolated from clinical settings confirmed that they infect sensitive strains and render them antibiotic resistant. The spread of antibiotic resistance genes by phage-plasmids is worrisome because it dispenses cell-to-cell contact, which is necessary for canonical plasmid transfer (conjugation). Furthermore, their integrons become genetic platforms for the acquisition of novel resistance genes.
The resistome of the multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli strain 271 carrying the plasmid-mediated blaNDM-1 carbapenemase gene was analyzed by high-throughput genome sequencing. The p271A plasmid ...carrying the blaNDM-1 gene was 35.9 kb in size and possessed an IncN-type backbone that harbored a novel replicase gene. Acquisition of the blaNDM-1 gene on plasmid p271A had been likely the result of a cointegration event involving the transposase of Tn5403. The expression of blaNDM-1 was associated with the insertion sequence ISAba125 likely originating from Acinetobacter baumannii. E. coli 271 accumulated multiple resistance determinants, including five β-lactamase genes (comprising the extended-spectrum β-lactamase CTX-M-15), two 16S RNA methylase ArmA- and RmtB-encoding genes, and the qepA gene encoding an efflux pump involved in resistance to fluoroquinolones. These resistance genes were located on three additional plasmids, of 160 kb (IncA/C), 130 kb (IncF), and 110 kb (IncI1). In addition, several chromosomally encoded resistance determinants were identified, such as topoisomerase mutations, porin modifications and truncations, and the intrinsic ampC gene of E. coli that was weakly expressed. The multidrug resistance pattern observed for E. coli 271 was therefore the result of combined chromosome- and plasmid-encoded mechanisms.
Since 2016, OXA-244-producing Escherichia coli has been increasingly isolated in France. We sequenced 97 OXA-244-producing E. coli isolates and found a wide diversity of sequence types and a high ...prevalence of sequence type 38. Long-read sequencing demonstrated the chromosomal location of bla
inside the entire or truncated Tn51098.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
During 2013-2021, increased prevalence of oxacillinase 232-producing Enterobacterales was observed in France, mostly driven by its emergence in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Whole-genome sequencing ...identified that oxacillinase 232-producing K. pneumoniae belonged to 14 sequence types (STs), among which 2 polyclonal high-risk clones, ST-231 and ST-2096, were overrepresented.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing Gram-negative bacteria are often extremely resistant, leading to a real therapeutic dead end. Here, we evaluated the
and
efficacy of aztreonam in combination with ...ceftazidime-avibactam, ceftolozane-tazobactam, or amoxicillin-clavulanate for the treatment of infections caused by MBL-producing
, MBL-producing
, and extremely drug-resistant
First, we report two clinical cases, namely, a urinary tract infection caused by an NDM-5-producing
isolate and a pulmonary infection caused by a
isolate efficiently treated with the association of aztreonam-ceftazidime-avibactam and aztreonam-amoxicillin-clavulanate, respectively. Then, a total of 50 MBL-producing
isolates, 3 MBL-producing
isolates, and 5 extremely drug-resistant
isolates were used to test aztreonam susceptibility in combination with ceftolozane-tazobactam, ceftazidime-avibactam, or amoxicillin-clavulanate. The Etest strip superposition method was used to determine the MICs of the aztreonam/inhibitor combinations. According to CLSI breakpoints, aztreonam susceptibility was fully restored for 86%, 20%, and 50% of the MBL-producing
isolates when combined with ceftazidime-avibactam, ceftolozane-tazobactam, and amoxicillin-clavulanate, respectively. In
, the aztreonam-ceftazidime-avibactam combination was the most potent, even though the reduction in MICs was at most 2-fold. With the 5
isolates, aztreonam-ceftazidime-avibactam and aztreonam-amoxicillin-clavulanate were found to be equal (100% susceptibility). Overall, aztreonam-ceftazidime-avibactam was the most potent combination to treat infections caused by MBL producers compared with aztreonam-amoxicillin-clavulanate and aztreonam-ceftolozane-tazobactam. However, in many cases aztreonam-amoxicillin-clavulanate was found to be as efficient as aztreonam-ceftazidime-avibactam, offering the main advantage to be markedly cheaper. We also confirmed the validity of Etest superpositions as a very simple method to determine MICs of aztreonam combinations.
To analyse the mechanisms responsible for carbapenem resistance in one Acinetobacter baumannii isolate recovered from a patient transferred to Germany from an Egyptian hospital.
PCR and sequencing ...were used to search for β-lactamase and 16S RNA methylase genes. Multilocus sequence typing was used to determine the sequence type (ST) of the isolate.
Sequencing of the PCR product obtained using primers for bla(NDM-1) revealed a variant of NDM-1 that had a C to G substitution at position 82 resulting in an amino acid substitution of proline to alanine at position 28. This variant was designated NDM-2. Genes encoding extended-spectrum β-lactamases or 16S RNA methylase were not detected. The strain lacked detectable plasmids and bla(NDM-2) was not transferred by conjugation. MLST showed that the isolate belonged to a new ST, ST103.
This work further underlines the spread of NDM carbapenemases in A. baumannii, and the spread of the corresponding gene in the Middle East. It also describes the first variant of NDM-1.
Cefiderocol is a catechol-substituted cephalosporin dedicated to the treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant gram-negative rods. Cefiderocol susceptibility testing might be complex. We ...compared cefiderocol susceptibility testing methods on a relevant collection of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales.
CE-IVD (European CE marking required for all in vitro diagnostic (IVD)) broth microdilution (BMD) plate (ThermoFisher, Waltham, MA, USA) using regular Mueller-Hinton broth, MIC test strip (Liofilchem, Teramo, Italy), and disk diffusion (Liofilchem) were compared to a frozen BMD plate prepared with iron depleted Mueller-Hinton broth. First, a collection of 100 entirely sequenced carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales was used to compare these methods. Then, a prospective comparison of disk diffusion and CE-IVD BMD was performed on 827 consecutive carbapenem non-susceptible Enterobacterales including 634 carbapenemase-producers.
Compared to reference method, CE-IVD BMD plate gave 95.0% (95% CI, 88.8-97.9) categorisation agreement (CA), 2.8% (95% CI, 0.4-14.2) very major errors (VME), and 1.6% (95% CI, 0.3-8.7) major errors (ME) with high reproducibility. MIC strip gave only 63% (95% CI, 53.2-71.8) of CA and 94.9% (95% CI, 83.1-98.6) of VME due to critical underestimation of the MICs. Disk diffusion gave 77% (95% CI, 67.9-84.2) CA with additional 8% of the isolates within the area of technical uncertainty of 18-22 mm. Prospectively, disk diffusion gave 81.7% (95% CI, 79.0-84.2) CA, 23.3% (95% CI, 15.1-34.2%)VME, and 4.9% (95% CI, 3.6-6.7) ME. Additionally, 21.3% (95% CI, 18.6-24.2) of CRE were within the area of technical uncertainty.
Commercial CE-IVD BMD (ThermoFisher) is accurate for cefiderocol MIC determination in difficult-to-treat Enterobacterales whereas MIC test strip (Liofilchem), that was formulated for Pseudomonas aeruginosa only, should be avoided. Disk diffusion might be useful for screening, but many of these CRE have to be re-tested using BMD to assess definitive categorization.