A Plasmid Bearing the bla _CTX-M-15 Gene and Phage P1-Like Sequences from a Sequence Type 11 Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolate

Abstract

Plasmid pKP12226 was extracted and analyzed from a CTX-M-15-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 11 (ST11) isolate collected in South Korea. The plasmid represents chimeric characteristics consisting of a pIP1206-like backbone and lysogenized phage P1-like sequences. It bears a resistance region that includes resistance genes to several antibiotics and is different from previously characterized plasmids from South Korea bearing bla CTX-M-15 . It may have resulted from recombination between an Escherichia coli plasmid backbone, a bla CTX-M-15 -bearing resistance region, and lysogenized phage P1-like sequences.A lthough the spread of CTX-M-15 has mainly been associated with a high-risk clone of Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131), Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates that produce CTX-M-15 are also disseminated worldwide (1, 2). In particular, the K. pneumoniae ST11 clone has been reported to be the most predominant CTX-M-15-producing clone in many countries, including South Korea (3-5). Similar to E. coli ST131, it has been observed that bla CTX-M-15 is usually located on IncF-type plasmids in K. pneumoniae isolates that produce CTX-M-15. Our previous studies have shown somewhat contradictory results on the evolution of the plasmid bearing bla CTX-M-15 in K. pneumoniae: while replicon typing of IncFII-type plasmids indicated that bla CTX-M-15 might not have been transferred directly from E. coli to K. pneumoniae, whole-plasmid analysis showed that bla CTX-M-15 -bearing plasmids from three different K. pneumoniae clones might result from recombination between a common plasmid backbone in K. pneumoniae and the resistance regions from plasmids of E. coli ST131 (6, 7). However, previous studies did not analyze the plasmids of CTX-M-15-producing K. pneumoniae ST11, a disseminating clone present worldwide, including in South Korea.In the present study, we determined the complete sequence of a plasmid carrying bla CTX-M-15 from a South Korean K. pneumoniae ST11 isolate, because the IncF-type plasmid of ST11 is the most prevalent in South Korea. We identified that the backbone of the plasmid is very similar to a plasmid of E. coli, and phage-like sequences were identified.pKP12226 is a plasmid carrying bla CTX-M-15 from K. pneumoniae strain K01-12226 isolated from a patient with bacteremia in South Korea. The isolate was determined to produce CTX-M-15-type extended-spectrum ␤-lactamases (ESBLs) and was found in our previous study (2) to belong to ST11. Conjugation of the plasmid carrying the bla CTX-M-15 gene was accomplished by using E. coli strain J53 as a recipient, which is sodium azide resistant and plasmid free, as shown in previous studies (7,8). A Roche 454 genome sequencer FLX system (version 2.6) was used for wholeplasmid sequencing of plasmid pKP12226. A total of 51,656 sequence reads were generated, yielding a mean sequence coverage of 15ϫ. The sequencing reads were assembled into consensus de novo assembly contigs using the Roche 454 genome sequencer FLX software GSA assembler (version 2.6), yieldin...

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“…Recently, plasmid bearing a bla CTX-M-15 gene and with chimeric characteristics consisting of pIP1206-like backbone and lysogenized phage P1-like sequences was characterized. It was postulated to have resulted from recombination between an E. coli plasmid backbone, a bla CTX-M-15 bearing region and a lysogenized phage P1-like sequence40. The high prevalence of a P1-family phage in Salmonella isolates suggest that the abilities of P1-like phages to transfer resistance genes need to be explored more thoroughly.…”

The Arginine Deiminase Operon Is Responsible for a Fitness Trade-Off in Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Strains of Escherichia coli

“…1) and (ii) carried by various genetic supports (IncFII plasmids and various regions of the chromosome). Furthermore, the arc operon has been found on an IncF-type plasmid carrying a bla CTX-M gene in a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain isolated in South Korea (52), showing that IncF plasmids carrying the arc operon can be isolated in very distant countries and from a different bacterial genus.…”

Mobile Genetic Elements Associated with Antimicrobial Resistance

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