Abstract
To investigate the genetic features and biological costs of the plasmid pTW4 harboring tet(M) in an isolate of Escherichia coli ST162 from a duck. The complete nucleotide sequence of plasmid pTW4 was determined. The characteristics of plasmid pTW4 in E. coli were investigated by stability and direct competition assays. pTW4 is an IncHI2-type plasmid that contained the resistant genes tet(M), floR, strAB, sul2, rmtB, and blaCMY-2. Tet(M) is located in the composite transposon Tn6539 within the multidrug resistant (MDR) region on this plasmid. Furthermore, the resistance gene rmtB and blaCMY−2 were found outside the MDR region. The plasmid pTW4 remained stable in the host strain E. coli J53 after passage under an antibiotic-free environment for 7 days. However, the strain E. coli J53/pTW4 showed a fitness disadvantage of 6% per ten generations in the process of growth competition with E. coli J53. In conclusion, the plasmid pTW4, a mobile MDR vehicle, may promote the dissemination of tet(M), floR, rmtB, strAB, sul2, and blaCMY-2 among bacteria and then, but it appears to confer growth disadvantage to the host.
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This work was supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [2016YFD05101304].
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This study was carried out in accordance with the guidelines of Henan Agricultural University Animal Ethics Committee.
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Liu, Yy., Sun, Yw., Sun, Hr. et al. Characterization of the IncHI2 plasmid pTW4 harboring tet(M) from an isolate of Escherichia coli ST162. J Antibiot 73, 876–880 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41429-020-0337-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41429-020-0337-y