Integron Mobilization Unit as a Source of Mobility of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance genes are spread mostly through plasmids, integrons (as a form of gene cassettes), and transposons in gram-negative bacteria. We describe here a novel genetic structure, named the integron mobilization unit (IMU), that has characteristics similar to those of miniature inverted transposable elements (MITEs). Two IMUs (288 bp each) were identified from a carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae isolate that formed a composite structure encompassing a defective class 1 integron containing the carbapenem resistance gene bla GES-5 . This ß-lactamase gene was located on a 7-kb IncQ-type plasmid named pCHE-A, which was sequenced completely. The plasmid pCHE-A was not self conjugative but was mobilizable, and it was successfully transferred from E. cloacae to Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The in silico analysis of the extremities of the IMU elements identified similarities with those of insertion sequence IS Sod9 from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The mobilization of the IMU composite structure was accomplished by using the transposase activity of IS Sod9 that was provided in trans . This is the first identification of MITE-type structures as a source of gene mobilization, implicating here a clinically relevant antibiotic resistance gene.