Identification of an extensively drug-resistant Escherichia coli clinical strain harboring mcr-1 and blaNDM-1 in Korea

J Antibiot (Tokyo). 2020 Dec;73(12):852-858. doi: 10.1038/s41429-020-0350-1. Epub 2020 Jul 14.

Abstract

The development of colistin resistance in carbapenem-resistant strains poses a serious public health problem. In this study, we collected 249 carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli isolates from patients in Seoul in 2018, and screened all isolates for colistin resistance and for the presence of mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes. Colistin-resistant strains were further analyzed using multilocus sequence typing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, detection of antibiotic resistance determinants, plasmid transconjugation, and whole-genome sequencing. Three of the 249 carbapenem-resistant isolates were resistant to colistin, and mcr-1 was detected in one isolate (SECR18-0888), which belonged to sequence type 156 and was resistant to all antibiotics tested except tigecycline. The mcr-1.1 gene was located on an ~62 kb self-transferable IncI2 plasmid along with the blaCTX-M-55 gene, and the blaNDM-1, blaTEM, qepA1, and rmtB genes were additionally detected in SECR18-0888. As an extensively drug-resistant E. coli strain producing MCR-1 and NDM-1 was identified in Korea for the first time, continued monitoring of colistin resistance in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae should be reinforced.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Carbapenems / pharmacology
  • Colistin / pharmacology
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics
  • Escherichia coli Infections / drug therapy
  • Escherichia coli Infections / epidemiology*
  • Escherichia coli Infections / microbiology
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics*
  • Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli / genetics*
  • Genes, Bacterial / genetics
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Republic of Korea / epidemiology
  • Whole Genome Sequencing
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Carbapenems
  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • MCR-1 protein, E coli
  • NDM-1 protein, E coli
  • beta-Lactamases
  • Colistin