Characterization of the Plasmidome Encoding Carbapenemase and Mechanisms for Dissemination of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae

Abstract

Global dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) threatens human health by limiting the efficacy of antibiotics even against common bacterial infections. Carbapenem resistance, mainly due to carbapenemase, is generally encoded on plasmids and is spread across bacterial species by conjugation. Most CRE epidemiological studies have analyzed whole genomes or only contigs of CRE isolates. Here, plasmidome analysis on 230 CRE isolates carrying bla IMP was performed to shed light into the dissemination of a single carbapenemase gene in Osaka, Japan. The predominant dissemination of bla IMP-6 by the pKPI-6 plasmid among genetically distinct isolates was revealed, as well as the emergences of pKPI-6 derivatives that acquired advantages for further disseminations. Underlying vast clonal dissemination of a carbapenemase-encoding plasmid, heteroresistance was found in CRE offspring, which was generated by the transcriptional regulation of bla IMP-6 , stabilization of bla IMP-6 through chromosomal integration, or broadened antimicrobial resistance due to a single point mutation in bla IMP-6 .