Introduction. The emergence of carbapenem-resistant
Pseudomonas
species producing metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) has become a serious medical problem worldwide. IMP-type MBL was firstly detected in 1991 in Japan. Since then, it has become one of the most prevalent types of MBLs.
Hypothesis/Gap statement. Avirulent species of
Pseudomonas
, such as
Pseudomonas alcaligenes
, function as reservoirs of drug resistance-associated genes encoding carbapenemases in clinical settings.
Methodology. Active surveillance for carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens was conducted in 2019 at a hospital in Tokyo, Japan. Of the 543 samples screened for carbapenem-resistant isolates, 2 were species of
Pseudomonas
. One was from a stool sample from a medical staff member, and the other was from a stool sample from a hospitalized patient.
Results. Whole-genome sequencing showed that the former isolate was a strain of
P. alcaligenes
, and the latter was a strain of Pseudomonas paralcaligenes, a species close to
P. alcaligenes
. Both isolates were resistant to all carbapenems and harboured bla
IMP-1 genes encoding IMP-1 MBL, which conferred resistance to carbapenems. The bla
IMP-1 genes of
P. alcaligenes
and P. paralcaligenes were located on the plasmids, pMRCP2, 323125 bp in size, and pMRCP1333, 16592 bp in size, respectively. The sequence of 82 % of pMRCP2 was 92 % similar to the sequence of a plasmid of
P. aeruginosa
PA83, whereas the sequence of 79 % of pMRCP1333 was >95 % similar to the sequence of a plasmid of
Achromobacter xylosoxidans
FDAARGOS 162. The genomic environments surrounding the bla
IMP-1 of pMRCP2 and pMRCP1333 differed completely from each other.
Conclusions. These results indicate that the two isolates acquired bla
IMP-1 from different sources and that
P. alcaligenes
and P. paralcaligenes function as vectors and reservoirs of carbapenem-resistant genes in hospitals.