Emergence and Evolution of OXA-23-Producing ST46<sub>Pas</sub>-ST462<sub>Oxf</sub>-KL28-OCL1 Carbapenem-Resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> Mediated by a Novel IS<i>Aba1</i>-Based Tn<i>7534</i> Transposon

oleh: Haiyang Liu, Xiaochen Liu, Jintao He, Linghong Zhang, Feng Zhao, Zhihui Zhou, Xiaoting Hua, Yunsong Yu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-02-01

Deskripsi

Carbapenem-resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> (CRAB) isolates of global clone 1 (GC1) and global clone 2 (GC2) have been widely reported. Nevertheless, non-GC1 and non-GC2 CRAB strains have been studied less. In particular, no reports concerning sequence type 46 (ST46<sub>Pas</sub>) CRAB strains have been described thus far. In this work, the genomic features and possible evolution mechanism of ST46<sub>Pas</sub> OXA-23-producing CRAB isolates from clinical specimens are reported for the first time. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of three ST46<sub>Pas</sub> strains revealed identical resistance profiles (resistance to imipenem, meropenem, ciprofloxacin and the combination of cefoperazone/sulbactam at a 2:1 ratio). They were found to belong to ST46<sub>Pas</sub> and ST462<sub>Oxf</sub> with capsular polysaccharide 28 (KL28) and lipooligosaccharide 1 (OCL1), respectively. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) revealed that all contained one copy of chromosomal <i>bla</i><sub>OXA-23</sub>, which was located in a novel IS<i>Aba1</i>-based Tn<i>7534</i> composite transposon. In particular, another copy of the Tn<i>7534</i> composite transposon was identified in an Hgz_103-type plasmid with 9 bp target site duplications (TSDs, ACAACATGC) in the <i>A. baumannii</i> ZHOU strain. As the strains originated from two neighboring intensive care units (ICUs), ST46<sub>Pas</sub> OXA-23-producing CRAB strains may have evolved via transposition events or a p<i>dif</i> module. Based on the GenBank database, ST46<sub>Pas</sub> strains were collected from various sources; however, most were collected in Hangzhou (China) from 2014 to 2021. Pan-genome analysis revealed 3276 core genes, 0 soft-core genes, 768 shell genes and 443 cloud genes shared among all ST46<sub>Pas</sub> strains. In conclusion, the emergence of ST46<sub>Pas</sub> CRAB strains might present a new threat to healthcare settings; therefore, effective surveillance is required to prevent further dissemination.