Transferable IncX3 plasmid harboring blaNDM-1, bleMBL, and aph(3’)-VI genes from Klebsiella pneumoniae conferring phenotypic carbapenem resistance in E. coli

• Published in: Molecular biology reports 2023-06, Vol.50 (6), p.4945-4953
• Main Authors: Elshamy, Ann A., Saleh, Sarra E., Aboshanab, Khaled M., Aboulwafa, Mohammad M., Hassouna, Nadia A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ampicillin; Animal Anatomy; Animal Biochemistry; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbapenems; Cefoxitin; Ceftazidime; Ceftriaxone; Conserved sequence; Drug resistance; E coli; Histology; Imipenem; Insertion sequences; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Life Sciences; Metallo-β-lactamase; Morphology; Multidrug resistance; Original; Original Article; Phenotypes; Public health; Sulbactam; Urinary tract
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-08401-9

Background The dissemination of carbapenem resistance via carbapenemases, such as the metallo-β-lactamase NDM, among Enterobacterales poses a public health threat. The aim of this study was to characterize a plasmid carrying the bla NDM-1 gene, which was extracted from a clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae uropathogen from an Egyptian patient suffering from a urinary tract infection. Methods and results The recovered plasmid was transformed into competent E. coli DH5α which acquired phenotypic resistance to cefoxitin, ceftazidime, and ampicillin/sulbactam, and intermediate sensitivity to ceftriaxone and imipenem (a carbapenem). Whole plasmid sequencing was performed on the extracted plasmid using the DNBSEQ™ platform. The obtained forward and reverse reads were assembled into contigs using the PRINSEQ and PLACNETw web tools. The obtained contigs were uploaded to PlasmidFinder and ResFinder for in silico plasmid typing and detection of antimicrobial resistance genes, respectively. The final consensus sequence was obtained using the Staden Package software. The plasmid (pNDMKP37, NCBI accession OK623716 .1 ) was typed as an IncX3 plasmid with a size of 46,160 bp and harbored the antibiotic resistance genes bla NDM-1 , ble MBL , and aph(3’)-VI . The plasmid also carried mobile genetic elements involved in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance including insertion sequences IS 30 , IS 630 , and IS 26 . Conclusions This is Egypt’s first report of a transmissible plasmid co-harboring bla NDM-1 and aph (3’ )-VI genes. Moreover, the respective plasmid is of great medical concern as it has caused the horizontal transmission of multidrug-resistant phenotypes to the transformant. Therefore, new guidelines should be implemented for the rational use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, particularly carbapenems.