Recombination of plasmids in a carbapenem-resistant NDM-5-producing clinical Escherichia coli isolate

Objectives: To investigate the genetic features of five plasmids recovered from an NDM-5-producing clinical Escherichia coli strain, BJ114, and to characterize the plasmid recombination event that occurred during the conjugation process. Methods: The genetic profiles of the five plasmids were determined by PCR, conjugation, S1-PFGE, Southern hybridization and WGS analysis. Plasmid sequences were analysed with various bioinformatic tools. Results: Complete sequences of five plasmids were obtained. Two small plasmids, pBJ114-141 and pBJ114-46, were speculated to have recombined into a large fusion plasmid, pBJ114T-190. When conjugated to other E. coli strains, some of the fusion plasmids were able to be resolved into the original two single plasmids. A nonconjugative plasmid, pBJ114-96, exhibited a high degree of sequence identity with the phage P7-like plasmid as well as an mcr-1-bearing plasmid. Another plasmid, pBJ114-78, was found to contain multidrug resistance genes and various mobile elements. Conclusions: The fusion plasmid recoverable from the transconjugant was found to be generated as a result of a recombination event that occurred upon interaction between a bla_NDM-5-carrying plasmid and another plasmid present in the parental strain. Such recombination events presumably play a potential role in the dissemination of the bla_NDM genes among different plasmids and pathogenic bacterial strains.