Carbapenemases inactivate most β-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems, and have frequently been reported among Enterobacteriaceae , Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas spp. Traditionally, the horizontal gene transfer of carbapenemase-encoding genes (CEGs) has been linked to plasmids. However, given that integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are possibly the most abundant conjugative elements among prokaryotes, we conducted an in silico analysis to ascertain the likely role of ICEs in the spread of CEGs among all bacterial genomes (n=182 663). We detected 17 520 CEGs, of which 66 were located within putative ICEs among several bacterial species (including clinically relevant bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli ). Most CEGs detected within ICEs belong to the IMP, NDM and SPM metallo-beta-lactamase families, and the serine beta-lactamase KPC and GES families. Different mechanisms were likely responsible for acquisition of these genes. The majority of CEG-bearing ICEs belong to the MPFG, MPFT and MPFF classes and often encode resistance to other antibiotics (e.g. aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones). This study provides a snapshot of the different CEGs associated with ICEs among available bacterial genomes and sheds light on the underappreciated contribution of ICEs to the spread of carbapenem resistance globally.

中文翻译：

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全面的基因组数据分析建立了碳青霉烯酶、ICE 和多种临床相关细菌的三重打击。

碳青霉烯酶使大多数 β-内酰胺类抗生素失活，包括碳青霉烯类，并且经常在肠杆菌科、不动杆菌属中报道。和假单胞菌属。传统上，碳青霉烯酶编码基因 (CEG) 的水平基因转移与质粒有关。然而，鉴于整合和共轭元件 (ICE) 可能是原核生物中最丰富的共轭元件，我们进行了计算机分析以确定 ICE 在所有细菌基因组中 CEG 传播中的可能作用 ( n = 182 663)。我们检测到 17 520 个 CEG，其中 66 个位于几种细菌物种（包括临床相关细菌，如 铜绿假单胞菌 、肺炎克雷伯菌和大肠杆菌）。在 ICE 中检测到的大多数 CEG 属于 IMP、NDM 和 SPM 金属-β-内酰胺酶家族，以及丝氨酸 β-内酰胺酶 KPC 和 GES 家族。不同的机制可能负责获得这些基因。大多数带有 CEG 的 ICE 属于 MPF G、MPF T和 MPF F类，并且通常编码对其他抗生素（例如氨基糖苷类和氟喹诺酮类）的抗性。这项研究提供了可用细菌基因组中与 ICE 相关的不同 CEG 的快照，并阐明了 ICE 对全球碳青霉烯耐药性传播的低估贡献。