Dataset Information

Detection and typing of integrons in epidemic strains of Acinetobacter baumannii found in the United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT: Integrons were sought in Acinetobacter isolates from hospitals in the United Kingdom by integrase gene PCR. Isolates were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and most belonged to a small number of outbreak strains or clones of A. baumannii, which are highly successful in the United Kingdom. Class 1 integrons were found in all of the outbreak isolates but in none of the sporadic isolates. No class 2 integrons were found. Three integrons were identified among the main outbreak strains and clones. While a particular integron was usually associated with a strain or clone, some members carried a different integron. Some integrons were associated with more than one strain. The cassette arrays of two of the integrons were very similar, both containing gene aacC1, which confers resistance to gentamicin, two open reading frames coding for unknown products (orfX, orfX'), and gene aadA1a, which confers resistance to spectinomycin and streptomycin. The larger of these integrons had two copies of the first (orfX) of the gene cassettes coding for unknown products. The third integron, with a cassette array containing gene aacA4, which codes for amikacin, netilmicin, and tobramycin resistance; a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, catB8; and gene aadA1, conferring resistance to spectinomycin and streptomycin, was associated with an OXA-23 carbapenemase-producing clone, which has spread rapidly in hospitals in the United Kingdom during 2003 and 2004. These integron cassette arrays have been found in other outbreak strains of A. baumannii from other countries. We conclude that integrons are useful markers for epidemic strains of A. baumannii and that integron typing provides valuable information for epidemiological studies.

SUBMITTER: Turton JF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1169174 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Detection and typing of integrons in epidemic strains of Acinetobacter baumannii found in the United Kingdom.

Turton Jane F JF Kaufmann Mary E ME Glover Judith J Coelho Juliana M JM Warner Marina M Pike Rachel R Pitt Tyrone L TL

Journal of clinical microbiology 20050701 7

Integrons were sought in Acinetobacter isolates from hospitals in the United Kingdom by integrase gene PCR. Isolates were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and most belonged to a small number of outbreak strains or clones of A. baumannii, which are highly successful in the United Kingdom. Class 1 integrons were found in all of the outbreak isolates but in none of the sporadic isolates. No class 2 integrons were found. Three integrons were identified among the main outbreak strains an ...[more]

PMID: 16000417

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Project description:Plasmids found in Acinetobacter species contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. They appear to be largely confined to this genus and cannot be typed with available tools and databases. Here, a method for distinguishing and typing these plasmids was developed using a curated, non-redundant set of 621 complete sequences of plasmids from Acinetobacter baumannii. Plasmids were separated into 3 groups based on the Pfam domains of the encoded replication initiation (Rep) protein and a fourth group that lack an identifiable Rep protein. The rep genes of each Rep-encoding group (n = 13 Rep_1, n = 107 RepPriCT_1, n = 351 Rep_3) were then clustered using a threshold of >95% nucleotide identity to define 80 distinct types. Five Rep_1 subgroups, designated R1_T1 to R1-T5, were identified and a sixth reported recently was added. Each R1 type corresponded to a conserved small plasmid sequence. The RepPriCT_1 plasmids fell into 5 subgroups, designated RP-T1 to RP-T5 and the Rep_3 plasmids comprised 69 distinct types (R3-T1 to R3-T69). Three R1, 2 RP and 32 R3 types are represented by only a single plasmid. Over half of the plasmids belong to the 4 most abundant types: the RP-T1 plasmids (n = 97), which include conjugation genes and are often associated with various acquired antibiotic resistance genes, and R3-T1, R3-T2 and R3-T3 (n = 95, 30 and 45, respectively). To facilitate typing and the identification of plasmids in draft genomes using this framework, we established the Acinetobacter Typing database containing representative nucleotide and protein sequences of the type markers (https://github.com/MehradHamidian/AcinetobacterPlasmidTyping). IMPORTANCE Though they contribute to the dissemination of genes that confer resistance to clinically important carbapenem and aminoglycoside antibiotics used to treat life-threatening Acinetobacter baumannii infections, plasmids found in Acinetobacter species have not been well studied. As these plasmids do not resemble those found in other Gram-negative pathogens, available typing systems are unsuitable. The plasmid typing system developed for A. baumannii plasmids with an identifiable rep gene will facilitate the classification and tracking of sequenced plasmids. It will also enable the detection of plasmid-derived contigs present in draft genomes that are widely ignored currently. Hence, it will assist in the tracking of resistance genes and other genes that affect survival in the environment, as they spread through the population. As identical or similar plasmids have been found in other Acinetobacter species, the typing system will also be broadly applicable in identifying plasmids in other members of the genus.

Dataset Information

Detection and typing of integrons in epidemic strains of Acinetobacter baumannii found in the United Kingdom.

Publications

Detection and typing of integrons in epidemic strains of Acinetobacter baumannii found in the United Kingdom.

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