title: Investigation of class 1 integrons in Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical and microbiota isolates belonging to different phylogenetic groups in Recife, State of Pernambuco.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The high prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections is related to the ability of K. pneumoniae to acquire and disseminate exogenous genes associated with mobile elements, such as R plasmids, transposons and integrons. This study investigated the presence of class 1 integrons in clinical and microbiota isolates of K. pneumoniae belonging to different phylogenetic groups and correlated these results with the antimicrobial resistance profiles of the studied isolates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of the 51 isolates of K. pneumoniae selected for this study, 29 were from multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, and 22 were from children's microbiota. The susceptibility profile was determined using the disk diffusion method, and class 1 integrons were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that none of the 22 microbiota isolates carried class 1 integrons. Among the 29 clinical isolates, 19 (65.5%) contained class 1 integrons, and resistance to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim was identified in 18 of these isolates (94.7%). Among the K. pneumoniae isolates with class 1 integrons, 47% belonged to the KpI phylogenetic group, and one isolate (14.3%) carrying these genetic elements belonged to the KpIII group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The wide variety of detected class 1 integrons supports the presence of high rates of antimicrobial resistance, genetic variability, and rapid dissemination of beta-lactamase genes among K. pneumoniae clinical isolates in recent years in hospitals in Recife-PE, Brazil. The findings of this study indicate that the surveillance of K. pneumoniae integrons in clinical isolates could be useful for monitoring the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the hospital environment.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Tropical, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alexsandra Maria Silva
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Tropical, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maíra Espíndola Silva
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: de Melo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fábio André
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Brayner
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Tropical, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Catarina Souza
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D006801:Humans; D032023:Integrons / Q000235:genetics*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D064307:Microbiota / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial