First Report of the Globally Disseminated IncX4 Plasmid Carrying the mcr-1 Gene in a Colistin-Resistant Escherichia coli Sequence Type 101 Isolate from a Human Infection in Brazil

Miriam R Fernandes; John A McCulloch; Marco A Vianello; Quézia Moura; Paula J Pérez-Chaparro; Fernanda Esposito; Luciana Sartori; Milena Dropa; Maria H Matté; Débora P A Lira; Elsa M Mamizuka; Nilton Lincopan

doi:10.1128/AAC.01325-16

First Report of the Globally Disseminated IncX4 Plasmid Carrying the mcr-1 Gene in a Colistin-Resistant Escherichia coli Sequence Type 101 Isolate from a Human Infection in Brazil

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Sep 23;60(10):6415-7. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01325-16. Print 2016 Oct.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil miriamrfernandes@usp.br lincopan@usp.br.
² Department of Clinical Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
³ Hospital de Guarnição de Natal, Brazilian Army, Natal, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁵ School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁶ Department of Clinical Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil miriamrfernandes@usp.br lincopan@usp.br.

Abstract

A colistin-resistant Escherichia coli strain was recovered from a patient with a diabetic foot infection in Brazil. Whole-genome analysis revealed that the E. coli isolate belonged to the widespread sequence type (ST) 101 and harbored the mcr-1 gene on an IncX4 plasmid that was highly similar to mcr-1-bearing IncX4 plasmids that were recently identified in Enterobacteriaceae from food, animal, and human samples recovered on different continents. These results suggest that self-transmissible IncX4-type plasmids may represent promiscuous plasmids contributing to the intercontinental spread of the mcr-1 gene.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Aged
Brazil
Colistin / pharmacology*
Drug Resistance, Bacterial / drug effects
Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics*
Escherichia coli / drug effects*
Escherichia coli / genetics
Escherichia coli / isolation & purification*
Escherichia coli Infections / drug therapy
Escherichia coli Infections / microbiology
Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics*
Humans
Male
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Plasmids / drug effects
Plasmids / genetics

Substances

Escherichia coli Proteins
MCR-1 protein, E coli
Colistin

Grants and funding

This work was funded by research grant 2013/12107-4 from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) grants 485438/2012-7 and 457421/2014-2.