Screening of Class 1 and Class 2 Integrons in Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Collected from Seven Hospitals in Turkey:A Multicenter Study

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading nosocomial pathogens worldwide, and their infections are difficult to treat due to acquired resistance to many antibiotics. This study aimed to detect class 1 and 2 integrons and antibiotic susceptibility of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. Two hundred and five P. aeruginosa strains were collected from the seven general state hospitals in Turkey. They were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, screened for class 1 and class 2 integrons, and evaluated for the association between antibiotic resistance phenotypes and the presence of integrons. intI gene was amplified in 10 isolates (4.87%) by PCR and in seven isolates of them (70%) were found different gene cassettes. The aadA gene integrated into the class 1 integrons was most frequently found and it was followed by aac genes and blaOXA family genes. Sequence analysis of variable regions of the class 1 integrons showed five gene cassette arrays;aadA1(99%), aac(3)-Id(82%)-orf-aac(3”)-Ia(99%), aac(3)-Ie(83%)-blaoxa10(100%)- aadA1 (100%), aadA6(99%, 100%), aac(6’)-I(97%)-orf-aadA2(99%). No class 2 integron was detected. This study is the first multicenter study for class 1 integrons and it indicates the low rate of presence of class 1 gene cassette in P. aeruginosa.

Detection of class 1 integron in Acinetobacter baumannii isolates collected from nine hospitals in Turkey

Objective:To investigate the antibiotic resistance genes inserted into class I and class 2integrons in Acinetobacler baumannii[A.baumannii)isolates obtained from nine different cities in Turkey.Methods:A collection of 281 A.baumannii clinical isolates were collected from nine diferenl state hospitals in Turkey and were confirmed as A.baumannU by conventional biochemical,API testing and bla_(-OXA-51)specific PCR.The isolates were examined by PCR for existence of class I and2 integron gene cassettes.Results:They were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and the highest resistance rates were determined for piperacillin(90.03%),ciprofloxacin(87.54%),cefepime and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole(81.13%).The lowest resistance rates was for cefotaxime(3.55%).class 1 integrons were detected in 6.4%(18/281)of A.baumannii strains and no class 2 integron was detected.The gene casselles of class 1 inlegrons AacCI-AAC(3)l-aadAI,AacCI-aadA1,AAC(3)-I,AAC(3)-I-AAC(3)-I-aadA1,TEM-1.AAC(3)-I-aadA1-AAC(3)-I-AAC(3)-I,AAC(3)-I-AAC(3)-I-AAC(3)-I-aadA1,AAC(3)-I-aadA1,AAC(3)-I-AAC(3)-I,AAC(3)-I-aadA1-AAC(3)-I-aadA1,AAC(3)-I-AAC(3)-I-aadA1-AAC(3)-I-aadA1 were detected in eighteen strains.The aac genes family were most frequently found integrated into the class 1 inlegrons and it was followed by aadA genes and TEM-1 genes.Conclusions:This is an extensive study on the distribulion of class 1 integron among A.baumannii in Turkey.In addition to these,two new alleles were observed.Their percentage rates of similarity to other cassettes are 95%aadA1(TK A18)and 89%,aadA 1(ANKA3).

Characterization of Class 1 Integron Gene Cassettes among Clinical Bacteria Isolated from One Large Hospital in Northern China

The class 1 integron and complex gene cassettes among different species of clinical isolates in northern China were characterized in this study. 383 clinical isolates were obtained from northern China, and class 1 integrons containing gene cassettes widely distributed among gram negative clinical isolates was observed. We find that the class 1 integron showed positive correlation with multidrug resistance phenotype of gram negative bacteria. In addition, we find that isolates belonged to one species harbored different types of gene cassette arrays, while same types of gene cassette arrays were observed in different species of isolates. The diversity of gene cassette arrays among the isolates indicated the complexity of multidrug resistance in clinical isolates in northern China.

Prevalence of class 1 integron and its gene cassettes carrying antibiotic resistance genes in drinking water treatment and distribution systems

Class 1 integrons are vital mobile genetic elements involved in the environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs).However,knowledge about the diversity and abundance of class 1 integrons and gene cassettes during drinking water treatment and distribution is still limited.In this study,we aimed to uncover the prevalence of class 1 integrons in the drinking water treatment and distribution systems with the combination of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.Further,we applied the nanopore sequencing method to characterize the diversity and arrangement of ARGs carried by class 1 integron-associated gene cassettes.A total of 42 isolates were inti-positive among the 208 strains isolated from drinking water,which tended to confer multi-drug resistance compared with intll-negative isolates.The absolute abundance of the intl1 average i.15×10^(9) copies/L in the source water and underwent the most significant reduction of over 99.9%after liquid chiorine disinfection.Furthermore,nanopore sequencing revealed that the class 1 integron-associated gene cassettes carried 51 subtypes of ARGs in drinking water,mainly conferring resistance to aminoglycosides and trimethoprim.The treatment processes,especially liquid chlorine disinfection,reduced most of the ARGs carried by gene cassettes,though some of the ARG subtypes persisted along the treatment and distribution ike aac(6)-Il,aadA,and dfrB2.The antibiotic resistance gene cassette array laac(6')-Ⅱ arr was most frequently detected,especially in the chlorinated water.This study underlined that drinking water was potential reservoir for integron-mediated ARGs transfer,indicating that the health risks of resistance gene cassettes in class 1 integrons deserved urgent attention.