A megaplasmid family driving dissemination of multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas.
Adrian CazaresMatthew P MooreJames P J HallLaura L WrightMacauley GrimesJean-Guillaume Emond-RhéaultPisut PongchaikulPitak SantanirandRoger C LevesqueJoanne L FothergillCraig WinstanleyPublished in: Nature communications (2020)
Multidrug resistance (MDR) represents a global threat to health. Here, we used whole genome sequencing to characterise Pseudomonas aeruginosa MDR clinical isolates from a hospital in Thailand. Using long-read sequence data we obtained complete sequences of two closely related megaplasmids (>420 kb) carrying large arrays of antibiotic resistance genes located in discrete, complex and dynamic resistance regions, and revealing evidence of extensive duplication and recombination events. A comprehensive pangenomic and phylogenomic analysis indicates that: 1) these large plasmids comprise an emerging family present in different members of the Pseudomonas genus, and associated with multiple sources (geographical, clinical or environmental); 2) the megaplasmids encode diverse niche-adaptive accessory traits, including multidrug resistance; 3) the accessory genome of the megaplasmid family is highly flexible and diverse. The history of the megaplasmid family, inferred from our analysis of the available database, suggests that members carrying multiple resistance genes date back to at least the 1970s.
Keyphrases
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- antibiotic resistance genes
- healthcare
- multidrug resistant
- genome wide
- biofilm formation
- microbial community
- escherichia coli
- wastewater treatment
- cystic fibrosis
- machine learning
- dna damage
- staphylococcus aureus
- risk assessment
- single molecule
- drinking water
- anaerobic digestion
- human health
- drug resistant
- big data
- acinetobacter baumannii
- oxidative stress
- amino acid
- artificial intelligence