Anthropogenic environments have been implicated in enrichment and exchange of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria. Here we study the impact of confined and controlled swine farm environments on temporal changes in the gut microbiome and resistome of veterinary students with occupational exposure for 3 months. By analyzing 16S rRNA and whole metagenome shotgun sequencing data in tandem with culture-based methods, we show that farm exposure shapes the gut microbiome of students, resulting in enrichment of potentially pathogenic taxa and antimicrobial resistance genes. Comparison of students' gut microbiomes and resistomes to farm workers' and environmental samples revealed extensive sharing of resistance genes and bacteria following exposure and after three months of their visit. Notably, antibiotic resistance genes were found in similar genetic contexts in student samples and farm environmental samples. Dynamic Bayesian network modeling predicted that the observed changes partially reverse over a 4-6 month period. Our results indicate that acute changes in a human's living environment can persistently shape their gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome.

c Two Escherichia coli clones (sequence type 648 [ST648] and ST156) that coproduce NDM-5 and MCR-1 were detected from a single fowl in China. The bla NDM-5 gene was found on the two indistinguishable IncX3 plasmids from the two different E. coli isolates, whereas the mcr-1 gene was located on IncHI2 and IncI2 plasmids, respectively, suggesting that bla NDM-5 and mcr-1 have spread in avian intestinal flora. Also, the two strains harbor bla TEM-1 , bla CTX-M-55 , fosA3, and aac(6=)-Ib. The multiresistant E. coli strains (especially the epidemic clone ST648) might raise a potential threat to human health via food chain transmission. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a global public health problem. The New Delhi metallo-␤-lactamase (NDM) was first described in 2008 (1) and has become one of the most widespread carbapenemases in the world (2-4). Meanwhile, since the recent discovery of the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 in China (5), several studies have confirmed its dissemination in different humans and animals (6-10). In addition, the coproduction of carbapenemase and MCR-1 was detected in a few bacteria (6,8,(11)(12)(13), which poses a serious concern to public health. Here, we report the first case of NDM-5-and MCR-1-producing Escherichia coli clones sequence type 648 (ST648) and ST156 from a single fowl.In May 2015, a rectal swab was collected from a 1-month-old Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) with colibacillosis to study carbapenemase-encoding genes from animals in China. The diseased duck was sent to the veterinary clinical diagnosis laboratory in South China Agricultural University from a duck farm in Guangdong Province, China. Carbapenem-producing isolates were selected in MacConkey medium supplemented with meropenem (1 g/ml). Two E. coli isolates (NDM131 and NDM132) with diverse morphological characteristics were isolated and were identified by the Axima matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometer (Shimadzu-Biotech Corp., Kyoto, Japan).Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the agar dilution method (14) and interpreted according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines (15). The EUCAST breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae for colistin and tigecycline were applied (16).Both E. coli isolates (NDM131 and NDM132) were resistant to cefoxitin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, imipenem, meropenem, ertapenem, gentamicin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, fosfomycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and colistin but susceptible to tigecycline (see Table S1 in the supplemental material). NDM131 was also resistant to aztreonam and amikacin. The double-disk synergy test and biochemical Carba NP test confirmed extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase production in both isolates.PCR analyses were performed to confirm carbapenemase, ESBLs, plasmid-mediated AmpC cephalosporinase-encoding genes, 16S rRNA methyltransferase genes, and fosfomycin resistance genes. The complete coding sequence of the NDM g...

Carbapenem and colistin are the last-resort antibiotics used for treating multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Here, we report, for the first time, co-transfer of resistance to both classes of antibiotics by a mobile IncX3-X4 hybrid plasmid in an Escherichia coli isolate. Spread of such a plasmid is of great concern for clinical therapy, and heightened efforts are needed to control its dissemination.

No abstract

Lysobacter enzymogenes is a ubiquitous soil gammaproteobacterium that produces a broad-spectrum antifungal antibiotic, known as heat-stable antifungal factor (HSAF). To increase HSAF production for use against fungal crop diseases, it is important to understand how HSAF synthesis is regulated. To gain insights into transcriptional regulation of the HSAF synthesis gene cluster, we generated a library with deletion mutations in the genes predicted to encode response regulators of the two-component signaling systems in L. enzymogenes strain OH11. By quantifying HSAF production levels in the 45 constructed mutants, we identified two strains that produced significantly smaller amounts of HSAF. One of the mutations affected a gene encoding a conserved bacterial response regulator, PilR, which is commonly associated with type IV pilus synthesis. We determined that L. enzymogenes PilR regulates pilus synthesis and twitching motility via a traditional pathway, by binding to the pilA promoter and upregulating pilA expression. Regulation of HSAF production by PilR was found to be independent of pilus formation. We discovered that the pilR mutant contained significantly higher intracellular levels of the second messenger cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) and that this was the inhibitory signal for HSAF production. Therefore, the type IV pilus regulator PilR in L. enzymogenes activates twitching motility while downregulating antibiotic HSAF production by increasing intracellular c-di-GMP levels. This study identifies a new role of a common pilus regulator in proteobacteria and provides guidance for increasing antifungal antibiotic production in L. enzymogenes.

Since initial identification in China, the widespread geographical occurrence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 in Enterobacteriaceae has been of great concern. In this study, a total of 22 Salmonella enterica were resistant to colistin, while only five isolates which belonged to ST34 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) were mcr-1 positive. Four of them shared nearly identical PFGE type, although they were from different host species and diverse geographical locations. All the mcr-1-positive S. Typhimurium exhibited multi-resistant phenotypes including ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin, florfenicol, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethox, in addition to colistin. The oqxAB and aac(6′)-Ib-cr genes were present alone or in combination in four (80.0%) and five (100%) isolates, respectively. The mcr-1 gene was located on a transferable IncI2 plasmid in the four genetically related strains. In the other one strain, mcr-1 was located on an approximately 190 kb IncHI2 plasmid. In conclusion, we report five mcr-1-positive S. Typhimurium/ST34 isolates. Both clonal expansion and horizontal transmission of IncI2-type plasmids were involved in the spread of the mcr-1 gene in Salmonella enterica from food-producing animals in China. There is a great need to monitor the potential dissemination of the mcr-1 gene.

Bacterial resistance to the third-generation cephalosporin antibiotics has become a major concern for public health. This study was aimed to determine the characteristics and distribution of blaCTX-M-14, which encodes an extended-spectrum β-lactamase, in Escherichia coli isolated from Guangdong Province, China. A total of 979 E. coli isolates isolated from healthy or diseased food-producing animals including swine and avian were examined for blaCTX-M-14 and then the blaCTX-M-14 -positive isolates were detected by other resistance determinants [extended-spectrum β-lactamase genes, plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance, rmtB, and floR] and analyzed by phylogenetic grouping analysis, PCR-based plasmid replicon typing, multilocus sequence typing, and plasmid analysis. The genetic environments of blaCTX-M-14 were also determined by PCR. The results showed that fourteen CTX-M-14-producing E. coli were identified, belonging to groups A (7/14), B1 (4/14), and D (3/14). The most predominant resistance gene was blaTEM (n = 8), followed by floR (n = 7), oqxA (n = 3), aac(6′)-1b-cr (n = 2), and rmtB (n = 1). Plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-14 were classified to IncK, IncHI2, IncHI1, IncN, IncFIB, IncF or IncI1, ranged from about 30 to 200 kb, and with insertion sequence of ISEcp1, IS26, or ORF513 located upstream and IS903 downstream of blaCTX-M-14. The result of multilocus sequence typing showed that 14 isolates had 11 STs, and the 11 STs belonged to five groups. Many of the identified sequence types are reported to be common in E. coli isolates associated with extraintestinal infections in humans, suggesting possible transmission of blaCTX-M-14 between animals and humans. The difference in the flanking sequences of blaCTX-M-14 between the 2009 isolates and the early ones suggests that the resistance gene context continues to evolve in E. coli of food producing animals.

Type IV pilus (T4P) is widespread in bacteria, yet its biogenesis mechanism and functionality is only partially elucidated in a limited number of bacterial species. Here, by using strain OH11 as the model organism, we reported the identification of 26 T4P structural or functional component (SFC) proteins in the Gram-negative Lysobacter enzymogenes, which is a biocontrol agent potentially exploiting T4P-mediated twitching motility for antifungal activity. Twenty such SFC coding genes were individually knocked-out in-frame to create a T4P SFC deletion library. By using combined phenotypic and genetic approaches, we found that 14 such SFCs, which were expressed from four operons, were essential for twitching motility. These SFCs included the minor pilins (PilE, PilX, PilV, and FimT), the anti-retraction protein PilY1, the platform protein PilC, the extension/extraction ATPases (PilB, PilT, and PilU), and the PilMNOPQ complex. Among these, mutation of pilT or pilU caused a hyper piliation, while the remaining 12 SFCs were indispensable for pilus formation. Ten (FimT, PilY1, PilB, PilT, PilU, and the PilMNOPQ complex) of the 14 SFC proteins, as well as PilA, were further shown to play a key role in L. enzymogenes biofilm formation. Overall, our results provide the first report to dissect the genetic basis of T4P biogenesis and its role in biofilm formation in L. enzymogenes in detail, which can serve as an alternative platform for studying T4P biogenesis and its antifungal function.