First Report of the Plasmid-mediated fosB Gene in Enterococcus faecalis from Pigs

Abstract

Plasmid-mediated fosfomycin determinants is a global public health concern due to the increasing dissemination of fosfomycin resistance and limited clinical treatment options. Information about the fosfomycin resistant and molecular genetic among Enterococcus spp. is still lacking. In this study, we found the first plasmid-medieted fosB in Enterococcus faecalis from pigs, and all the fosfomycin resistant Enterococcus spp. (FRE) isolates were multi-drug resistant. S1-PFGE, Southern blot and conjugation experiments indicated that the fosB gene located on ~54.7 kb transferable plasmids. Relative competition assay confirmed that the fosB-carrying plasmid impaired fitness in recipient E. faecalis JH2-2. Illumina and the MinION sequencing data revealed that both E. faecalis ES-1 and ES-2 isolates belonged to novel ST (ST964), and had 71 SNPs difference. WGS showed that the genetic environments of fosB were diverse among different species, and the linezolid resistance gene optrA was found in the fosB-carrying strains. To summarize, for the first time, we reported plasmid-mediated fosB in E. faecalis from pigs. And, the co-occurrence of fosB and optrA pose a serious threat to public health.