Molecular Characterization by Whole-Genome Sequencing of Clinical and Environmental Serratia marcescens Strains Isolated during an Outbreak in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Alessandra PiccirilliSabrina CherubiniFabrizia BrisdelliPaolo FaziiAndrea StanzialeSusanna Di ValerioValentina ChiavaroliLuigi PrincipeMariagrazia PerilliPublished in: Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) (2022)
The whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of eighteen S. marcescens clinical strains isolated from 18 newborns hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Pescara Public Hospital, Italy, was compared with that of S. marcescens isolated from cradles surfaces in the same ward. The identical antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors were found in both clinical and environmental S. marcescens strains. The aac(6')-Ic , tetA(41) , bla SRT-3 , adeFGH , rsmA , and PBP3 (D350N) genes were identified in all strains. The SRT-3 enzyme, which exhibited 10 amino acid substitutions with respect to SST-1, the constitutive AmpC β-lactamase in S. marcescens , was partially purified and tested against some β-lactams. It showed a good activity against cefazolin. Both clinical and environmental S. marcescens strains exhibited susceptibility to all antibiotics tested, with the exception of amoxicillin/clavulanate.
Keyphrases
- escherichia coli
- preterm infants
- antibiotic resistance genes
- healthcare
- amino acid
- pregnant women
- staphylococcus aureus
- wastewater treatment
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- human health
- dna methylation
- gene expression
- multidrug resistant
- low birth weight
- cystic fibrosis
- life cycle
- adverse drug
- gestational age
- drug induced
- genome wide analysis