Emergence of Salmonella genomic island 1 variant SGI1-C in a multidrug-resistant clinical isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae ST485 from Egypt

Authors: SOLIMAN, AHMED - University Of Hiroshima; RAMADAN, HAZEM - Mansoura University; GHAZY, ESLAM - Tanta University; YU, LIANSHENG - National Institute Of Infectious Diseases; HISATSUNE, JUNZO - National Institute Of Infectious Diseases; KAYAMA, SHIZUO - National Institute Of Infectious Diseases; SUGAI, MOTOYUKI - National Institute Of Infectious Diseases; NARIYA, HIROFUMI - University Of Hiroshima; SHIMAMOTO, TOSHI - University Of Hiroshima; Jackson, Charlene; SHIMAMOTO, TADASHI - University Of Hiroshima

Submitted to: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/3/2020
Publication Date: 7/13/2020
Citation: Soliman, A., Ramadan, H., Ghazy, E., Yu, L., Hisatsune, J., Kayama, S., Sugai, M., Nariya, H., Shimamoto, T., Jackson, C.R., Shimamoto, T. 2020. Emergence of Salmonella genomic island 1 variant SGI1-C in a multidrug-resistant clinical isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae ST485 from Egypt. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01055-20.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01055-20

Interpretive Summary: Resistance to frontline and clinically important antimicrobials can originate in human isolates and subsequently move to isolates from different sources such as food animals. For this reason, it is important to analyze resistance in bacterial pathogens from multiple sources as dissemination of resistance may occur. In this study, a mobile genomic island of resistance genes originally identified in Salmonella Typhimurium was detected and characterized in a clinical isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Egypt. The K. pneumoniae strain harbored mobile genetic elements and was multidrug resistant to a number of antimicrobials including aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, fosfomycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim, and quinolones. The presence of the Salmonella genomic island in K. pneumoniae is very important as it identifies another mechanism of spreading and transfer of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes. Implementation of screening strategies for the various Salmonella genomic islands among Gram-negative bacteria (not only Salmonella spp.) is essential to prevent the spread of this mobile element to other bacterial pathogens. This data will provide a basis for comparison of resistance genes and mobile elements from human and food animal origin which will be useful for researchers and policy makers as antimicrobial use for the One Health initiative is evaluated.

Technical Abstract: Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) is a 42.2-kb integrative mobilizable element (IME), that was originally identified in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104. Numerous IMEs related to SGI1 have been identified e.g, SGI0 (lacking class 1 integron), and SGI2 (the integron was located at S023), and SGI-V. Klebsiella genomic island (KGI1) is another SGI1-related element (SGI1-44 REs) lacking integrons and detected during an in-silico analysis in Klebsiella pneumoniae from the UK. Here, we report the emergence of SGI1 variant SGI1-C in a multidrug-resistant clinical isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae from Egypt. This strain carried SGI1 variant SGI1-C, harbored mobile genetic elements and was multidrug resistant to aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, fosfomycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim, and quinolones. The presence of SGI1 in K. pneumoniae, one of the most commonly isolated species of Enterobacterales, is very important as it identifies another mechanism of dissemination and transfer of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes. Implementation of screening strategies for SGI1 and other SGI1-REs among Gram-negative bacteria (not only Salmonella spp.) is essential to prevent the spread of this IME to other bacterial pathogens.