scholarly journals Chromosomal Integration of Huge and Complex blaNDM-Carrying Genetic Elements in Enterobacteriaceae

Author(s):  
Xinhua Luo ◽  
Zhe Yin ◽  
Lijun Zeng ◽  
Lingfei Hu ◽  
Xiaoyuan Jiang ◽  
...  

In this study, a detailed genetic dissection of the huge and complex blaNDM-carrying genetic elements and their related mobile genetic elements was performed in Enterobacteriaceae. An extensive comparison was applied to 12 chromosomal genetic elements, including six sequenced in this study and the other six from GenBank. These 12 genetic elements were divided into five groups: a novel IME Tn6588; two related IMEs Tn6523 (SGI1) and Tn6589; four related ICEs Tn6512 (R391), Tn6575 (ICEPvuChnBC22), Tn6576, and Tn6577; Tn7 and its derivatives Tn6726 and 40.7-kb Tn7-related element; and two related IMEs Tn6591 (GIsul2) and Tn6590. At least 51 resistance genes, involved in resistance to 18 different categories of antibiotics and heavy metals, were found in these 12 genetic elements. Notably, Tn6576 carried another ICE Tn6582. In particular, the six blaNDM-carrying genetic elements Tn6588, Tn6589, Tn6575, Tn6576, Tn6726, and 40.7-kb Tn7-related element contained large accessory multidrug resistance (MDR) regions, each of which had a very complex mosaic structure that comprised intact or residual mobile genetic elements including insertion sequences, unit or composite transposons, integrons, and putative resistance units. Core blaNDM genetic environments manifested as four different Tn125 derivatives and, notably, two or more copies of relevant Tn125 derivatives were found in each of Tn6576, Tn6588, Tn6589, and 40.7-kb Tn7-related element. The huge and complex blaNDM-carrying genetic elements were assembled from complex transposition and homolog recombination. Firstly identified were eight novel mobile elements, including three ICEs Tn6576, Tn6577, and Tn6582, two IMEs, Tn6588 and Tn6589, two composite transposons Tn6580a and Tn6580b, and one integron In1718.

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Razavi ◽  
Erik Kristiansson ◽  
Carl-Fredrik Flach ◽  
D. G. Joakim Larsson

ABSTRACT Insertion sequences (ISs) are abundant mobile genetic elements on bacterial genomes, responsible for mobilization of many genes, including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). As ARGs often occur in similar genetic contexts, understanding which ISs tend to be associated with known ARGs could be a first step toward discovering novel ARGs through predictive or experimental strategies. This could be valuable, as early identification of ARGs in pathogens could facilitate surveillance, confinement actions, molecular diagnostics, and drug development. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the association of specific ISs with known ARGs. A large collection of bacterial genomes was used to characterize the immediate context of 2,437 known ARGs and 3,768 ISs. While many ARGs were consistently found close to specific ISs, the contexts around all ISs were more variable. Nevertheless, a subset of individual ISs, as well as tentative composite transposons, showed significant associations with ARGs. These included, e.g., insertion sequences classified as IS6, Tn3, IS4, and IS1 that were not only strongly associated with diverse ARGs but also highly abundant in pathogens. Therefore, we conclude that the context of this subset of ISs and tentative composite transposons would be particularly valuable to discover novel ARGs through modeling or empirical approaches. A set of 1,891 metagenomes were analyzed to identify environments where those ISs commonly associated with ARGs were particularly abundant. The associations found in metagenomes were similar to those found in genomes. IMPORTANCE The emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among pathogens threaten the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections as well as our food production chains. Early knowledge about mobile ARGs that are present in pathogens or that have the potential to become clinically relevant could help mitigate potential negative consequences. Recently, exploring integron gene cassettes was shown to be successful for identifying novel mobilized ARGs, some of which were already circulating in pathogens. Still, only a subset of ARGs is mobilized by integrons, and the contexts of other mobile genetic elements associated with ARGs remain unexplored. This includes insertion sequences (ISs) responsible for the mobilization of many ARGs. Our analyses identified ISs, species, and environments where ARG-IS relationships are particularly strong. This could be a first step to guide the discovery of novel ARGs, while also providing insights into mechanisms involved in the mobilization and transfer of ARGs.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Wu ◽  
Lin Yang ◽  
Wen-Ge Li ◽  
Wen Zhu Zhang ◽  
Zheng Jie Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Clade 5 Clostridioides difficile diverges significantly from the other clades and is therefore, attracting increasing attention due its great heterogeneity. In this study, we used third-generation sequencing techniques to sequence the complete whole genomes of three ST11 C. difficile isolates, RT078 and another two new ribotypes (RTs), obtained from three independent hospitalized elderly patients undergoing antibiotics treatment. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs), antibiotic-resistance, drug resistance genes, and virulent-related genes were analyzed and compared within these three isolates. Results Isolates 10,010 and 12,038 carried a distinct deletion in tcdA compared with isolate 21,062. Furthermore, all three isolates had identical deletions and point-mutations in tcdC, which was once thought to be a unique characteristic of RT078. Isolate 21,062 (RT078) had a unique plasmid, different numbers of transposons and genetic organization, and harboring special CRISPR spacers. All three isolates retained high-level sensitivity to 11 drugs and isolate 21,062 (RT078) carried distinct drug-resistance genes and loss of numerous flagellum-related genes. Conclusions We concluded that capillary electrophoresis based PCR-ribotyping is important for confirming RT078. Furthermore, RT078 isolates displayed specific MGEs, indicating an independent evolutionary process. In the further study, we could testify these findings with more RT078 isolates of divergent origins.


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