AUTHOR=Zelendova Marketa , Papagiannitsis Costas C. , Valcek Adam , Medvecky Matej , Bitar Ibrahim , Hrabak Jaroslav , Gelbicova Tereza , Barakova Alzbeta , Kutilova Iva , Karpiskova Renata , Dolejska Monika 

TITLE=Characterization of the Complete Nucleotide Sequences of mcr-1-Encoding Plasmids From Enterobacterales Isolates in Retailed Raw Meat Products From the Czech Republic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.604067

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.604067

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The aim of our study was to determine complete nucleotide sequence of <italic>mcr-1-</italic>carrying plasmids from Enterobacterales isolates recovered from domestic and imported raw retailed meat and compare them with plasmids available at the GenBank sequence database. A set of 16 plasmids originating from <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 13), <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 2), and <italic>Citrobacter braakii</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 1) were analyzed. In our previous study, data from whole genome sequencing showed that <italic>mcr-1</italic> gene was located on plasmids of different incompatibility groups (IncHI2, IncI2, and IncX4). The IncI2 (<italic>n</italic> = 3) and IncX4 (<italic>n</italic> = 8) plasmids harbored <italic>mcr-1.1</italic> gene only, whereas IncHI2 sequence type 4 plasmids (<italic>n</italic> = 5) carried large multidrug resistance (MDR) regions. MDR regions of IncHI2 plasmids included additional antimicrobial resistance genes conferring resistance to β-lactams (<italic>bla</italic><sub>TEM−1</sub>), aminoglycosides [<italic>aadA1, aadA2</italic>, and <italic>aph(6)-Id</italic>], macrolides [<italic>mef</italic> (B)], tetracycline (<italic>tetA, tetR</italic>), and sulphonamides (<italic>sul1, sul2</italic>, and <italic>sul3</italic>). Likewise, IncHI2 plasmids carried several insertion sequences including IS<italic>1</italic>, IS<italic>3</italic>, IS<italic>26</italic>, IS<italic>1326</italic>, and IS<italic>Apl1</italic>. In conclusion, our findings confirmed the involvement of IncX4, IncI2, and IncHI2 plasmids in the dissemination of <italic>mcr-1.1</italic> gene in several environmental niches, as in samples of retail meat originating from different geographical regions. In contrast to IncX4 and IncI2, IncHI2 plasmids were more diverse and carried additional genes for resistance to heavy metals and multiple antimicrobials.</p>