title: IncA/C plasmids harboured in serious multidrug-resistant Vibrio cholerae serogroup O139 strains in China.
abstract: Vibrio cholerae serogroup O139 emerged in 1992 and is one of two major serogroups to have caused cholera epidemics. After 1998, serious multidrug-resistant (MDR) O139 strains quickly became common in China, showing a multidrug resistance profile to eight antibiotics. It is a great threat to public health, and elucidation of its mechanisms of resistance will provide a helpful guide for the clinical treatment and prevention of cholera. In this study, mega-plasmids from MDR V. cholerae O139 strains were identified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) without enzyme digestion. One plasmid was isolated and sequenced, belonging to the IncA/C family. Ten antibiotic resistance genes were found in the MDR regions, including a blaTEM-20 gene, and these genes endowed the host with resistance to seven antibiotics. This kind of plasmid was positive in 71.2% (198/278) of toxigenic O139 strains, and the rate of plasmid positivity was consistent with the yearly change in MDR rates of these strains. This study reveals an important role of the IncA/C family plasmid in the spread of multiple antibiotic resistance of epidemic V. cholerae serogroup O139 strains, which has recombined with plasmids from different bacterial species and transferred among V. cholerae strains.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, PR China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, PR China. Electronic address: wangruibai@icdc.cn.
authors.forename: Ruibai
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity, Beijing 100071, PR China. Electronic address: yudong07@yahoo.com.cn.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity, Beijing 100071, PR China. Electronic address: zhulh@126.com.
authors.forename: Lianhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, PR China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, PR China. Electronic address: lijie@icdc.cn.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity, Beijing 100071, PR China. Electronic address: yue_junjie@126.com.
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, PR China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, PR China. Electronic address: kanbiao@icdc.cn.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kan
mesh_terms: D002771:Cholera / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D010957:Plasmids / Q000032:analysis*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D041242:Vibrio cholerae O139 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Multidrug resistance; Plasmid; Serogroup O139; Vibrio cholerae