Whole genome sequencing of diverse Shiga toxin-producing and non-producing Escherichia coli strains reveals a variety of virulence and novel antibiotic resistance plasmids.
The genomes of a diverse set of Escherichia coli, including many Shiga toxin-producing strains of various serotypes were determined. A total of 39 plasmids were identified among these strains, and many carried virulence or putative virulence genes of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains, virulence genes for other pathogenic E. coli groups, and some had combinations of these genes. Among the novel plasmids identified were eight that carried resistance genes to aminoglycosides, carbapenems, penicillins, cephalosporins, chloramphenicol, dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors, sulfonamides, tetracyclines and resistance to heavy metals. Two of the plasmids carried six of these resistance genes and two novel IncHI2 plasmids were also identified. The results of this study showed that plasmids carrying diverse resistance and virulence genes of various pathogenic E. coli groups can be found in E. coli strains and serotypes regardless of the isolate's source and therefore, is consistent with the premise that these mobile elements carrying these traits may be broadly disseminated among E. coli.
['Losada|Liliana|L|', 'DebRoy|Chitrita|C|', 'Radune|Diana|D|', 'Kim|Maria|M|', 'Sanka|Ravi|R|', 'Brinkac|Lauren|L|', 'Kariyawasam|Subhashinie|S|', 'Shelton|Daniel|D|', 'Fratamico|Pina M|PM|', 'Kapur|Vivek|V|', 'Feng|Peter C H|PC|']
D000818:Animals D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial D004926:Escherichia coli D005798:Genes, Bacterial D016680:Genome, Bacterial D006801:Humans D019216:Metals, Heavy D010957:Plasmids D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli
Genome sequencing Antibiotic resistance Plasmids Virulence genes STEC