AUTHOR=Bitar Ibrahim , Papagiannitsis Costas C. , Kraftova Lucie , Marchetti Vittoria Mattioni , Petinaki Efthymia , Finianos Marc , Chudejova Katerina , Zemlickova Helena , Hrabak Jaroslav 

TITLE=Implication of different replicons in the spread of the VIM-1-encoding integron, In110, in Enterobacterales from Czech hospitals

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.993240

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.993240

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>VIM metallo-β-lactamases are enzymes characterized by the ability to hydrolyze all β-lactams. Usually, <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub>-like genes are carried by class 1 integrons. In the Czech Republic, only sporadic cases of VIM-producing Enterobacterales have been reported in which those isolates carried the VIM-1 carbapenemase-encoding integron In110. However, during 2019–2020, an increased number was reported. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to characterize the genetic elements involved in the increased spread of <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub> genes.</p></sec><sec><title>Materials and methods</title><p>32 VIM-producing Enterobacterales collected between 2019 and 2020 were subjected to: antimicrobial susceptibility testing, integron analysis, and short reads sequencing. Based on the results, 19 isolates were selected as representative and sequenced using Sequel I platform.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The 32 VIM-producing isolates exhibited variations in the MICs of carbapenems. Based on short-read data, 26 of the 32 sequenced isolates harbored the <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM-1</sub> allele while six isolates carried the <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM-4</sub> gene. The most prevalent was the In110 integron (<italic>n</italic> = 24) and two isolates carried the In4873 class 1 integron. The <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM-4</sub> allele was identified in class 1 integrons In1174 (<italic>n</italic> = 3), In416 (<italic>n</italic> = 1), In2143 (<italic>n</italic> = 1) and In2150. Long reads sequencing revealed that the <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub> was carried by: pKPC-CAV1193-like (<italic>n</italic> = 6), HI1 (pNDM-CIT; <italic>n</italic> = 4), HI2 (<italic>n</italic> = 3), FIB (pECLA; <italic>n</italic> = 2) and N (<italic>n</italic> = 1) incompatibility groups. Two <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub>-carrying plasmids could not be typed by the database, while another one was integrated into the chromosome.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>We observed the spread of VIM-encoding integrons, mainly of In110, among Enterobacterales isolated from Czech hospitals, but also an increased number of novel elements underlining the ongoing evolution.</p></sec>