Transferable Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) Plasmids in Enterobacteriaceae from Irrigation Water

Abstract

<jats:p>Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae are classified as serious threats to human health by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water used for irrigation of fresh produce can transmit such resistant bacteria directly to edible plant parts. We screened ESBL-producing Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Citrobacter freundii isolated from irrigation water for their potential to transmit resistance to antibiotic-susceptible E. coli. All strains were genome-sequenced and tested in vitro for transmission of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins on solid agar as well as in liquid culture. Of the 19 screened isolates, five ESBL-producing E. coli were able to transfer resistance with different efficiency to susceptible recipient E. coli. Transconjugant strains were sequenced for detection of transferred antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and compared to the known ARG pattern of their respective donors. Additionally, phenotypic resistance patterns were obtained for both transconjugant and corresponding donor strains, confirming ESBL-producing phenotypes of all obtained transconjugants.</jats:p>

Pan-genome and resistome analysis of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli: A multi-setting epidemiological surveillance study from Malaysia

“…Additionally, ST131 is also frequently associated with fluoroquinolone resistance, either through the carriage of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes such as qnrS or quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) chromosomal mutations, such as gyrA and parC [ 14 , 17 ]. Nevertheless, ESBL dissemination can also be carried and disseminated by commensal strains through horizontal gene transfer of plasmids carrying the ESBL gene [ 18 ], as observed in community studies (e.g., [ 2 , 7 ]).…”

High Resistance to Antibiotics Recommended in Standard Treatment Guidelines in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study of Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Patients with Urinary Tract Infections between 2017 -2021

“…This may be due to the relatively high prevalence of ESBL observed among Enterobacterales. ESBL genes are typically borne on plasmids which are known to also carry multiple resistance genes making affected organisms multi-drug resistant [35]. The proportion of ESBL among Enterobacterales in this study was high.…”

Antibiotic resistance pattern and molecular detection of ESBL-associated genes in E. coli from surface and wastewater of Islamabad capital territory, Pakistan

“…A recent study indicated in vitro transmission of ESBL-encoding multidrug-resistant (MDR) plasmids from ESBL E. coli recovered from water to susceptible E. coli making them antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) organisms (Gekenidis et al 2020). Therefore, there is a possibility that ESBL E. coli isolates which are not resistant to antibiotics phenotypically but carry ESBL-encoding genes that may be involved in horizontal transmission of ESBL-encoding genes to other bacteria in the wastewater (Lenart-Borońet al 2020).…”