AUTHOR=Liu Ying-ying , Liu Xiao-kang , Cui Xiao-die , Chen Min , Li Shuai-hua , He Dan-dan , Liu Jian-hua , Yuan Li , Hu Gong-zheng , Pan Yu-shan 

TITLE=Characterization of pTS14, an IncF2:A1:B1 Plasmid Carrying tet(M) in a Salmonella enterica Isolate

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01523

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01523

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The objective of this study was to explore the genetic and biological features of the <italic>tet</italic>(M)-harboring plasmid pTS14 in <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> strain S14 isolated from a chicken fecal sample. Plasmid pTS14 was identified by conjugation, S1-pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), Southern hybridization, and plasmid sequencing. The biological characteristics of pTS14 were assessed via stability, growth kinetics, and starvation survival experiments. Strain S14, belonging to ST3007, harbored a 119-kb <italic>tet</italic>(M)-bearing IncF2:A1:B1 conjugative plasmid pTS14. The plasmid pTS14 contained a novel transposon Tn<italic>6709</italic> with the genetic structure IS<italic>26</italic>-<italic>tnpA1</italic>-<italic>tnpA2</italic>-Δ<italic>orf13</italic>-<italic>LP</italic>-<italic>tet</italic>(M)-<italic>tnpX</italic>-Δ<italic>tnpR</italic>-IS<italic>26</italic>, and the resistance genes <italic>tet</italic>(B), <italic>tet</italic>(D), <italic>strAB</italic>, <italic>sul2</italic>, and <italic>bla</italic><sub>TEM–1b</sub>. In addition, pTS14 was found to be highly stable in the recipient strain <italic>E. coli</italic> J53. The transconjugant TS14 exhibited a higher survival ratio than <italic>E. coli</italic> J53 under permanent starvation-induced stress. The <italic>tet</italic>(M)-bearing IncF2 epidemic plasmid lineage may accelerate the dissemination of <italic>tet</italic>(M) and other genes by coselection, which could constitute a potentially serious threat to clinical treatment regimens.</p>