Emergence of IncX3 Plasmid-Harboring blaNDM-5 in a Citrobacter sedlakii Isolated from Outdoor Aerosol in Wastewater Treatment Plant

Microb Drug Resist. 2022 Feb;28(2):199-204. doi: 10.1089/mdr.2021.0057. Epub 2021 Sep 13.

Abstract

A carbapenem-resistant Citrobacter sedlakii strain AA2CS carrying blaNDM-5 was detected in outdoor aerosols of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in China and the whole genome was sequenced subsequently. AA2CS was captured in an aerobic tank with aerosol particles of sizes ranging from 4.7 to 7.0 μm. Besides blaNDM-5, AA2CS also harbored 21 other antibiotic resistance genes and displayed a high level of resistance to ampicillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, tetracycline, and meropenem. BlaNDM-5 was located on the IncX3 plasmid (pCSNDM-5) with an IS3000-IS5-blaNDM-5-bleMBL-trpF-dsbD-IS26 structure. pCSNDM-5 was highly homologous to other blaNDM-5-carrying IncX3 plasmids in China and can be transferred to the Escherichia coli recipient J53. To our knowledge, this is the first report of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in outdoor aerosols in WWTPs.

Keywords: C. sedlakii; IncX3 plasmid; blaNDM-5, aerosol; wastewater treatment plant.

MeSH terms

  • Aerosols
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • China
  • Citrobacter / genetics*
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Genes, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Plasmids
  • Wastewater / microbiology*
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics

Substances

  • Aerosols
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Waste Water
  • beta-Lactamases
  • carbapenemase

Supplementary concepts

  • Citrobacter sedlakii