Novel plasmid conferring kanamycin and tetracycline resistance in the turkey-derived Campylobacter jejuni strain 11601MD

Abstract

In Campylobacter spp., resistance to the antimicrobials kanamycin and tetracycline is frequently associated with plasmid-borne genes. However, relatively few plasmids of Campylobacter jejuni have been fully characterized to date. A novel plasmid (p11601MD; 44,095nt) harboring tet(O) was identified in C. jejuni strain 11601MD, which was isolated from the jejunum of a turkey produced conventionally in North Carolina. Analysis of the p11601MD sequence revealed the presence of a high-GC content cassette with four genes that included tet(O) and a putative aminoglycoside transferase gene (aphA-3) highly similar to kanamycin resistance determinants. Several genes putatively involved in conjugative transfer were also identified on the plasmid. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the distribution of potentially self-mobilizing plasmids harboring antibiotic resistance determinants in Campylobacter spp. from turkeys and other sources.

Phylogenetic Relatedness Among Plasmids Harbored by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Isolated From Retail Meats

“…Since we have very little knowledge of the distribution of these Campylobacter plasmids, we used Maximum Parsimony for the analysis of the plasmid sequences. In a previous study done by (Crespo et al, 2016 ), similar types of phylogenetic relationships were observed where the majority of plasmids with tetO genes were allied in one cluster and some smaller plasmids were allied in another cluster. Results of NeighborNet analysis indicate that plasmids found in Campylobacter species likely have a convoluted evolutionary history (Supplementary Figure S1 ).…”

“…The tetO determinant was found in the chromosome as a part of a transposon gene cassette in isolates of C. coli derived from turkey and swine (Pratt and Korolik, 2005 ). Some of the pTet plasmids are also known to contain the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase gene aphA-3 and aphA-7 kanamycin resistant determinants (Tenover et al, 1992 ; Crespo et al, 2016 ; Marasini and Fakhr, 2016b ). Studies of C. jejuni and C. coli showed that the aphA-7 gene was also present in the smaller plasmids of 11.5 and 9.2 kb in size (Tenover et al, 1992 ).…”

Cloning and Expression of the Organophosphate Pesticide-Degradingα-βHydrolase Gene in Plasmid pMK-07 to Confer Cross-Resistance to Antibiotics

“…Based on gene ontology annotation, the genes from the plasmid were categorized into three domains: biological process, cellular component, and molecular function. Similar categorization was performed for a plasmid (pNUC and p11601MD) that includes cellular and molecular component genes of a clinical multidrug resistance in S. typhimurium and Campylobacter jejuni strain 11601MD [ 2 , 3 ] ( Table 2 ).…”

“…Plasmid-borne drug resistance and its persistence among soil bacteria cause great public health hazards. Although other genetic elements such as nonconjugative, mobilizable plasmids contribute to multidrug resistance [ 1 – 3 ], bacterial plasmid DNA also confers drug resistance [ 4 , 5 ]. Multidrug resistance is very common among soil bacteria that are exposed to pesticides [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Whole-Genome Sequences of Agricultural, Host-Associated Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni Strains

“…Genome annotation identified 1,618, 1,770, 1,939, 1,695 coding sequences, 76 to 123 pseudogenes, 1 to 4 rRNAs, and 35 to 36 tRNAs in C. coli 6067, 6461, and 11601 and C. jejuni 11601MD, respectively. In C. coli 11601 and C. jejuni 11601MD, the tetracycline resistance determinant tet (O) was plasmid-borne, with one contig of 11601MD harboring exclusively plasmid-associated sequences ( 13 ). As previously reported ( 14 ), tet (O) was found in the chromosome in C. coli 6067 and (in a different chromosomal locus) in C. coli 6461.…”