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. 2023 Mar 23:14:1153366.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1153366. eCollection 2023.

First report of coexistence of bla KPC-2-, bla NDM-1- and mcr-9-carrying plasmids in a clinical carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter hormaechei isolate

Qian Yuan  1 , Peiyuan Xia  1 , Lirong Xiong  1 , Linli Xie  1 , Shan Lv  1 , Fengjun Sun  1 , Wei Feng  1
Affiliations

First report of coexistence of bla KPC-2-, bla NDM-1- and mcr-9-carrying plasmids in a clinical carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter hormaechei isolate

Qian Yuan et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Colistin is regarded as one of the last-resort antibiotics against severe infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Strains with cooccurrence of mcr-9 and carbapenemase genes are of particular concern. This study aimed to investigate the genetic characteristics of a bla KPC-2-carrying plasmid, bla NDM-1-carrying plasmid and mcr-9-carrying plasmid coexisting in a carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter hormaechei isolate.

Methods: E. hormaechei strain E1532 was subjected to whole-genome sequencing, and the complete nucleotide sequences of three resistance plasmids identified in the strain were compared with related plasmid sequences. The resistance phenotypes mediated by these plasmids were analyzed by plasmid transfer, carbapenemase activity and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Results: Whole-genome sequencing revealed that strain E1532 carries three different resistance plasmids, pE1532-KPC, pE1532-NDM and pE1532-MCR. pE1532-KPC harboring bla KPC-2 and pE1532-NDM harboring bla NDM-1 are highly identical to the IncR plasmid pHN84KPC and IncX3 plasmid pNDM-HN380, respectively. The mcr-9-carrying plasmid pE1532-MCR possesses a backbone highly similar to that of the IncHI2 plasmids R478 and p505108-MDR, though their accessory modules differ. These three coexisting plasmids carry a large number of resistance genes and contribute to high resistance to almost all antibiotics tested, except for amikacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, tigecycline and polymyxin B. Most of the plasmid-mediated resistance genes are located in or flanked by various mobile genetic elements, facilitating horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.

Discussion: This is the first report of a single E. hormaechei isolate with coexistence of three resistance plasmids carrying mcr-9 and the two most common carbapenemase genes, bla KPC-2 and bla NDM-1. The prevalence and genetic features of these coexisting plasmids should be monitored to facilitate the establishment of effective strategies to control their further spread.

Keywords: Enterobacter hormaechei; carbapenemase genes; mcr-9; multidrug resistance; plasmid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Linear comparison of plasmid pE1532-KPC with pHN84KPC (accession number KY296104). Genes are denoted by arrows. Genes, mobile elements and other features are colored based on function classification. Shading denotes shared regions of homology (>95% nucleotide identity).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of plasmid pE1532-NDM with pNDM-HN380. (A) Linear comparison of the two sequenced plasmids pE1532-NDM and pNDM-HN380 (accession number JX104760). (B) The blaNDM-1 region from pE1532-NDM and comparison with related regions. Genes are denoted by arrows. Genes, mobile elements and other features are colored based on functional classification. Shading denotes shared regions of homology (≥90% nucleotide identity). Numbers in brackets indicate nucleotide positions within the corresponding plasmids. The accession numbers of the Tn125 and IS26-blaSHV-12-IS26 unit for reference are JN872328 and CP003684, respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The MDR-1 region from pE1532-MCR and comparison with related regions. Genes are denoted by arrows. Genes, mobile elements and other features are colored based on functional classification. Shading denotes shared regions of homology (≥90% nucleotide identity). Numbers in brackets indicate nucleotide positions within the corresponding plasmids. The accession numbers of the IS26-blaSHV-12-IS26 unit, IS26-mph(A)-IS6100 unit and Tn1722 for reference are CP003684, KY270852 and X61367, respectively.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The MDR-2 region from pE1532-MCR and comparison with related regions. Genes are denoted by arrows. Genes, mobile elements and other features are colored based on functional classification. Shading denotes shared regions of homology (≥90% nucleotide identity). Numbers in brackets indicate nucleotide positions within the corresponding plasmids. The accession numbers of Tn5393c and In0 for reference are AF262622 and U49101, respectively.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The ISKpn21:∆Tn6363 region from pE1532-MCR and comparison with related regions. Genes are denoted by arrows. Genes, mobile elements and other features are colored based on functional classification. Shading denotes shared regions of homology (≥90% nucleotide identity). Numbers in brackets indicate nucleotide positions within the corresponding plasmids. The accession numbers of ISKpn21 and Tn6363 for reference are AP012055 and KY978630, respectively.
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