Complete sequence of a KPC-producing IncN multidrug-resistant plasmid from an epidemic Escherichia coli sequence type 131 strain in China

Abstract

We report here the nucleotide sequence of a novel blaKPC-2-harboring incompatibility group N (IncN) plasmid, pECN580, from a multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) isolate recovered from Beijing, China. pECN580 harbors β-lactam resistance genes blaKPC-2, blaCTX-M-3, and blaTEM-1; aminoglycoside acetyltransferase gene aac(6')-Ib-cr; quinolone resistance gene qnrS1; rifampin resistance gene arr-3; and trimethoprim resistance gene dfrA14. The emergence of a blaKPC-2-harboring multidrug-resistant plasmid in an epidemic E. coli ST131 clone poses a significant potential threat in community and hospital settings.

FIG 1

(A) Plasmid structures of pR46 (GenBank accession no. AY046276), pKo6 (GenBank accession no. KC958437), pECN580 (GenBank accession no. KF914891), and pKPC-LKEc (GenBank accession no. KC788405). Light-blue shading denotes shared regions of homology. ORFs are portrayed by arrows and are colored based on their predicted gene functions. Orange arrows indicate plasmid scaffold regions. The genes associated with the tra locus are indicated by green arrows, and replication-associated genes are indicated by dark-blue arrows. Antimicrobial resistance genes are indicated by red arrows, while arsenic resistance genes are indicated by light-green arrows. Other genes in the accessory region are indicated by yellow arrows. (B) bla_KPC-harboring genetic elements in pBC633 (GenBank accession no. EU176012) (Tn4401b), pKp048 (GenBank accession no. FJ628167), pKo6 (GenBank accession no. KC958437), pECN580 (GenBank accession no. KF914891), and pKPC-LKEc (GenBank accession no. KC788405). Light-blue shading indicates shared regions of homology. Small black arrowheads flanking IS26 indicate the locations of IS26 invert repeats. The plasmid sequenced in this study (pECN580) is indicated with bold type.