Class 1 integrons in non-clonal multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii from Iran, description of the new blaIMP-55 allele in In1243

J Med Microbiol. 2016 Sep;65(9):928-936. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000315. Epub 2016 Jul 14.

Abstract

Infections and outbreaks caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) are prevalent and have been reported worldwide over the past 20 or more years. Class 1 integron in MDR-AB plays an important role in the spread of antibiotic resistance in clinical settings. This study has been conducted to evaluate the detection of metallo-β-lactamase, characterization of class 1 integron and determination of clonal relatedness among A. baumannii hospital isolates. Sixty-five clinical isolates of MDR-AB were recovered from two Iranian hospital's intensive care units from February to August 2013. Integrase (intI1) and blaIMP genes were detected in 70.8 % (n=46/65) and 9.23 % (n=6/65) of the isolates using PCR assay, respectively. No other metallo-β-lactamase genes (blaVIM, blaSIM and blaNDM) were detected. PCR sequencing of integron gene cassette revealed the following arrays: blaOXA10-aacA4-blaIMP-55-cmlA5 (as a novel array was designated In1243), aacC1 and aadA1. Analysis of blaIMP gene revealed a new allele designated as blaIMP-55. Gene transfer experiment by conjugation showed the 36 kb conjugative plasmid harbouring In1243. The clonal assessment by repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR demonstrated a high-degree relatedness among the strains, but strains harbouring In1243 displayed a different repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR profile. In this study, we found that a novel class 1 integron (In1243) that encoded a new blaIMP allele resided on a transferable plasmid in non-clonal strains of MDR-AB.

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter Infections / microbiology*
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / classification
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / enzymology
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / genetics*
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / isolation & purification*
  • Adult
  • Alleles
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Conjugation, Genetic
  • DNA Fingerprinting
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial*
  • Female
  • Gene Transfer, Horizontal
  • Genotype
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Integrons*
  • Iran
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Molecular Typing
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics*

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • beta-Lactamases
  • carbapenemase