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Edwards T, Heinz E, van Aartsen J, Howard A, Roberts P, Corless C, Fraser AJ, Williams CT, Bulgasim I, Cuevas LE, Parry CM, Roberts AP, Adams ER, Mason J, Hubbard ATM. Piperacillin/tazobactam-resistant, cephalosporin-susceptible Escherichia coli bloodstream infections are driven by multiple acquisition of resistance across diverse sequence types. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 35404783 PMCID: PMC9453079 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP) in Escherichia coli has predominantly been associated with mechanisms that confer resistance to third-generation cephalosporins. Recent reports have identified E. coli strains with phenotypic resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam but susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins (TZP-R/3GC-S). In this study we sought to determine the genetic diversity of this phenotype in E. coli (n=58) isolated between 2014–2017 at a single tertiary hospital in Liverpool, UK, as well as the associated resistance mechanisms. We compare our findings to a UK-wide collection of invasive E. coli isolates (n=1509) with publicly available phenotypic and genotypic data. These data sets included the TZP-R/3GC-S phenotype (n=68), and piperacillin/tazobactam and third-generation cephalosporin-susceptible (TZP-S/3GC-S, n=1271) phenotypes. The TZP-R/3GC-S phenotype was displayed in a broad range of sequence types, which was mirrored in the same phenotype from the UK-wide collection, and the overall diversity of invasive E. coli isolates. The TZP-R/3GC-S isolates contained a diverse range of plasmids, indicating multiple acquisition events of TZP resistance mechanisms rather than clonal expansion of a particular plasmid or sequence type. The putative resistance mechanisms were equally diverse, including hyperproduction of TEM-1, either via strong promoters or gene amplification, carriage of inhibitor-resistant β-lactamases, and an S133G blaCTX-M-15 mutation detected for the first time in clinical isolates. Several of these mechanisms were present at a lower abundance in the TZP-S/3GC-S isolates from the UK-wide collection, but without the associated phenotypic resistance to TZP. Eleven (19%) of the isolates had no putative mechanism identified from the genomic data. Our findings highlight the complexity of this cryptic phenotype and the need for continued phenotypic monitoring, as well as further investigation to improve detection and prediction of the TZP-R/3GC-S phenotype from genomic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Edwards
- Centre for Drug and Diagnostics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Eva Heinz
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Jon van Aartsen
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Alex Howard
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Paul Roberts
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Caroline Corless
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Alice J. Fraser
- Centre for Drug and Diagnostics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Christopher T. Williams
- Centre for Drug and Diagnostics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Issra Bulgasim
- Centre for Drug and Diagnostics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Luis E. Cuevas
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Christopher M. Parry
- Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Adam P. Roberts
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Emily R. Adams
- Centre for Drug and Diagnostics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Jenifer Mason
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Alasdair T. M. Hubbard
- Department of Biosciences, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
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Hubbard ATM, Mason J, Roberts P, Parry CM, Corless C, van Aartsen J, Howard A, Bulgasim I, Fraser AJ, Adams ER, Roberts AP, Edwards T. Piperacillin/tazobactam resistance in a clinical isolate of Escherichia coli due to IS26-mediated amplification of bla TEM-1B. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4915. [PMID: 33004811 PMCID: PMC7530762 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18668-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A phenotype of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, resistant to piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP) but susceptible to carbapenems and 3rd generation cephalosporins, has emerged. The resistance mechanism associated with this phenotype has been identified as hyperproduction of the β-lactamase TEM. However, the mechanism of hyperproduction due to gene amplification is not well understood. Here, we report a mechanism of gene amplification due to a translocatable unit (TU) excising from an IS26-flanked pseudo-compound transposon, PTn6762, which harbours blaTEM-1B. The TU re-inserts into the chromosome adjacent to IS26 and forms a tandem array of TUs, which increases the copy number of blaTEM-1B, leading to TEM-1B hyperproduction and TZP resistance. Despite a significant increase in blaTEM-1B copy number, the TZP-resistant isolate does not incur a fitness cost compared to the TZP-susceptible ancestor. This mechanism of amplification of blaTEM-1B is an important consideration when using genomic data to predict susceptibility to TZP.
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MESH Headings
- Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology
- Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use
- Chromosomes, Bacterial/genetics
- DNA Transposable Elements/genetics
- DNA, Bacterial/genetics
- Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics
- Drug Therapy, Combination/methods
- Escherichia coli/drug effects
- Escherichia coli/genetics
- Escherichia coli/isolation & purification
- Escherichia coli Infections/drug therapy
- Escherichia coli Infections/microbiology
- Escherichia coli Proteins/genetics
- Gene Amplification
- Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
- Genome, Bacterial/genetics
- Humans
- Microbial Sensitivity Tests
- Piperacillin/pharmacology
- Piperacillin/therapeutic use
- Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
- Tazobactam/pharmacology
- Tazobactam/therapeutic use
- Whole Genome Sequencing
- beta-Lactamases/genetics
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Affiliation(s)
- Alasdair T M Hubbard
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK.
| | - Jenifer Mason
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Paul Roberts
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Building MA, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LY, UK
| | - Christopher M Parry
- Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7BE, UK
- Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Caroline Corless
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Jon van Aartsen
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Alex Howard
- Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK
| | - Issra Bulgasim
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Alice J Fraser
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Emily R Adams
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Adam P Roberts
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Thomas Edwards
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK.
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Hubbard ATM, Bulgasim I, Roberts AP. A novel hemA mutation is responsible for a small-colony-variant phenotype in Escherichia coli. Microbiology (Reading) 2020; 167. [PMID: 32762803 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
We identified a small colony variant (SCV) of an amoxicillin/clavulanic acid-resistant derivative of a clinical isolate of Escherichia coli from Malawi, which was selected for in vitro in a subinhibitory concentration of gentamicin. The SCV was auxotrophic for hemin and had impaired biofilm formation compared to the ancestral isolates. A single novel nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in hemA, which encodes a glutamyl-tRNA reductase that catalyses the initial step of porphyrin biosynthesis leading to the production of haem, was responsible for the SCV phenotype. We showed the SNP in hemA resulted in a significant fitness cost to the isolate, which persisted even in the presence of hemin. However, the phenotype quickly reverted during sequential sub-culturing in liquid growth media. As hemA is not found in mammalian cells, and disruption of the gene results in a significant fitness cost, it represents a potential target for novel drug development specifically for the treatment of catheter-associated urinary tract infections caused by E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alasdair T M Hubbard
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Issra Bulgasim
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
| | - Adam P Roberts
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK
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