Dataset Information

Genetic Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance and Key Virulence Features in Two Extensively Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates.

ABSTRACT: In recent decades, Acinetobacter baumannii emerged as a major infective menace in healthcare settings due to scarce therapeutic options to treat infections. Therefore, undertaking genome comparison analyses of multi-resistant A. baumannii strains could aid the identification of key bacterial determinants to develop innovative anti-virulence approaches. Following genome sequencing, we performed a molecular characterization of key genes and genomic comparison of two A. baumannii strains, #36 and #150, with selected reference genomes. Despite a different antibiotic resistance gene content, the analyzed strains showed a very similar antibiogram profile. Interestingly, the lack of some important virulence determinants (i.e., bap, ata and omp33-36) did not abrogate their adhesive abilities to abiotic and biotic surfaces, as reported before; indeed, strains retained these capacities, although to a different extent, suggesting the presence of distinct vicarious genes. Conversely, secretion systems, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), capsule and iron acquisition systems were highly similar to A. baumannii reference strains. Overall, our analyses increased our knowledge on A. baumannii genomic content and organization as well as the genomic events occurring in nosocomial isolates to better fit into changing healthcare environments.

SUBMITTER: Marazzato M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8910769 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genetic Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance and Key Virulence Features in Two Extensively Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates.

Marazzato Massimiliano M Scribano Daniela D Sarshar Meysam M Brunetti Francesca F Fillo Silvia S Fortunato Antonella A Lista Florigio F Palamara Anna Teresa AT Zagaglia Carlo C Ambrosi Cecilia C

International journal of environmental research and public health 20220301 5

In recent decades, Acinetobacter baumannii emerged as a major infective menace in healthcare settings due to scarce therapeutic options to treat infections. Therefore, undertaking genome comparison analyses of multi-resistant A. baumannii strains could aid the identification of key bacterial determinants to develop innovative anti-virulence approaches. Following genome sequencing, we performed a molecular characterization of key genes and genomic comparison of two A. baumannii</ ...[more]

PMID: 35270562

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Project description:Nosocomial infections with Acinetobacter baumannii are a global problem in intensive care units with high mortality rates. Increasing resistance to first- and second-line antibiotics has forced the use of colistin as last-resort treatment, and increasing development of colistin resistance in A. baumannii has been reported. We evaluated the transcriptional regulator PmrA as potential drug target to restore colistin efficacy in A. baumannii Deletion of pmrA restored colistin susceptibility in 10 of the 12 extensively drug-resistant A. baumannii clinical isolates studied, indicating the importance of PmrA in the drug resistance phenotype. However, two strains remained highly resistant, indicating that PmrA-mediated overexpression of the phosphoethanolamine (PetN) transferase PmrC is not the exclusive colistin resistance mechanism in A. baumannii A detailed genetic characterization revealed a new colistin resistance mechanism mediated by genetic integration of the insertion element ISAbaI upstream of the PmrC homolog EptA (93% identity), leading to its overexpression. We found that eptA was ubiquitously present in clinical strains belonging to the international clone 2, and ISAbaI integration upstream of eptA was required to mediate the colistin-resistant phenotype. In addition, we found a duplicated ISAbaI-eptA cassette in one isolate, indicating that this colistin resistance determinant may be embedded in a mobile genetic element. Our data disprove PmrA as a drug target for adjuvant therapy but highlight the importance of PetN transferase-mediated colistin resistance in clinical strains. We suggest that direct targeting of the homologous PetN transferases PmrC/EptA may have the potential to overcome colistin resistance in A. baumanniiIMPORTANCE The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized modern medicine and enabled us to cure previously deadly bacterial infections. However, a progressive increase in antibiotic resistance rates is a major and global threat for our health care system. Colistin represents one of our last-resort antibiotics that is still active against most Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, but increasing resistance is reported worldwide, in particular due to the plasmid-encoded protein MCR-1 present in pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae Here, we showed that colistin resistance in A. baumannii, a top-priority pathogen causing deadly nosocomial infections, is mediated through different avenues that result in increased activity of homologous phosphoethanolamine (PetN) transferases. Considering that MCR-1 is also a PetN transferase, our findings indicate that PetN transferases might be the Achilles heel of superbugs and that direct targeting of them may have the potential to preserve the activity of polymyxin antibiotics.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen with a notorious reputation of being resistant to antimicrobial agents. The capability of A. baumannii to persist and disseminate between healthcare settings has raised a major concern worldwide. METHODS:Our study investigated the antibiotic resistance features and molecular epidemiology of 52 clinical isolates of A. baumannii collected in Pakistan between 2013 and 2015. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined by the agar disc diffusion method. Comparative sequence analyses of the ampC and blaOXA-51-like alleles were used to assign the isolates into clusters. The whole genomes of 25 representative isolates were sequenced using the MiSeq Desktop Sequencer. Free online applications were used to determine the phylogeny of genomic sequences, retrieve the multilocus sequence types (ST), and detect acquired antimicrobial resistance genes. RESULTS:Overall, the isolates were grouped into 7 clusters and 3 sporadic isolates. The largest cluster, Ab-Pak-cluster-1 (blaOXA-66 and ISAba1-ampC-19) included 24 isolates, belonged to ST2 and International clone (IC) II, and was distributed between two geographical far-off cities, Lahore and Peshawar. Ab-Pak-clusters-2 (blaOXA-66, ISAba1-ampC-2), and -3 (blaOXA-66, ISAba1-ampC-20) and the individual isolate Ab-Pak-Lah-01 (ISAba1-blaOXA-66, ISAba1-ampC-2) were also assigned to ST2 and IC II. On the other hand, Ab-Pak-clusters-4 (blaOXA-69, ampC-1), -5 (blaOXA-69, ISAba1-ampC-78), and -6A (blaOXA-371, ISAba1-ampC-3) belonged to ST1, while Ab-Pak-cluster-6B (blaOXA-371, ISAba1-ampC-8) belonged to ST1106, with both ST1 and ST1106 being members of IC I. Five isolates belonged to Ab-Pak-cluster-7 (blaOXA-65, ampC-43). This cluster corresponded to ST158, showed a well-delineated position on the genomic phylogenetic tree, and was equipped with several antimicrobial resistance genes including blaOXA-23 and blaGES-11. CONCLUSIONS:Our study detected the occurrence of 7 clusters of A. baumannii in Pakistan. Altogether, 6/7 of the clusters and 45/52 (86.5%) of the isolates belonged to IC I (n = 9) or II (n = 36), making Pakistan no exception to the global domination of these two clones. The onset of ST158 in Pakistan marked a geographical dispersal of this clone beyond the Middle East and brought up the need for a detailed characterization.

Dataset Information

Genetic Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance and Key Virulence Features in Two Extensively Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates.

Publications

Genetic Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance and Key Virulence Features in Two Extensively Drug-Resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> Isolates.

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