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Journal ArticleDOI

In Silico Detection and Typing of Plasmids using PlasmidFinder and Plasmid Multilocus Sequence Typing

TL;DR: Two easy-to-use Web tools for in silico detection and characterization of whole-genome sequence (WGS) and whole-plasmid sequence data from members of the family Enterobacteriaceae are designed and developed.
Abstract: In the work presented here, we designed and developed two easy-to-use Web tools for in silico detection and characterization of whole-genome sequence (WGS) and whole-plasmid sequence data from members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. These tools will facilitate bacterial typing based on draft genomes of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae species by the rapid detection of known plasmid types. Replicon sequences from 559 fully sequenced plasmids associated with the family Enterobacteriaceae in the NCBI nucleotide database were collected to build a consensus database for integration into a Web tool called PlasmidFinder that can be used for replicon sequence analysis of raw, contig group, or completely assembled and closed plasmid sequencing data. The PlasmidFinder database currently consists of 116 replicon sequences that match with at least at 80% nucleotide identity all replicon sequences identified in the 559 fully sequenced plasmids. For plasmid multilocus sequence typing (pMLST) analysis, a database that is updated weekly was generated from www.pubmlst.org and integrated into a Web tool called pMLST. Both databases were evaluated using draft genomes from a collection of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates. PlasmidFinder identified a total of 103 replicons and between zero and five different plasmid replicons within each of 49 S . Typhimurium draft genomes tested. The pMLST Web tool was able to subtype genomic sequencing data of plasmids, revealing both known plasmid sequence types (STs) and new alleles and ST variants. In conclusion, testing of the two Web tools using both fully assembled plasmid sequences and WGS-generated draft genomes showed them to be able to detect a broad variety of plasmids that are often associated with antimicrobial resistance in clinically relevant bacterial pathogens.

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the fitness effects of the major antibiotic resistance plasmid pOXA-48-K8 in wild-type, ecologically compatible enterobacterial isolates from the human gut microbiota were determined.
Abstract: Plasmid persistence in bacterial populations is strongly influenced by the fitness effects associated with plasmid carriage. However, plasmid fitness effects in wild-type bacterial hosts remain largely unexplored. In this study, we determined the fitness effects of the major antibiotic resistance plasmid pOXA-48_K8 in wild-type, ecologically compatible enterobacterial isolates from the human gut microbiota. Our results show that although pOXA-48_K8 produced an overall reduction in bacterial fitness, it produced small effects in most bacterial hosts, and even beneficial effects in several isolates. Moreover, genomic results showed a link between pOXA-48_K8 fitness effects and bacterial phylogeny, helping to explain plasmid epidemiology. Incorporating our fitness results into a simple population dynamics model revealed a new set of conditions for plasmid stability in bacterial communities, with plasmid persistence increasing with bacterial diversity and becoming less dependent on conjugation. These results help to explain the high prevalence of plasmids in the greatly diverse natural microbial communities. The variability of plasmid fitness effects on wild-type bacterial hosts have been largely unknown until this study, which shows that plasmid persistence increases with bacterial diversity and becomes less dependent on conjugation. This could explain why plasmids remain so common in nature.

66 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Sep 2019
TL;DR: Virulence plasmids in nosocomial isolates of “high-risk” clones of sequence types (STs) 15, 48, 101, 147 and 383 carrying carbapenemase genes are described.
Abstract: Virulence plasmids are associated with hypervirulent types of Klebsiella pneumoniae, which generally do not carry antibiotic resistance genes. In contrast, nosocomial isolates are often associated with resistance, but rarely with virulence plasmids. Here, we describe virulence plasmids in nosocomial isolates of “high-risk” clones of sequence types (STs) 15, 48, 101, 147 and 383 carrying carbapenemase genes. The whole genome sequences were determined by long-read nanopore sequencing. The 12 isolates all contained hybrid plasmids containing both resistance and virulence genes. All carried rmpA/rmpA2 and the aerobactin cluster, with the virulence plasmids of two of three representatives of ST383 carrying blaNDM-5 and seventeen other resistance genes. Representatives of ST48 and ST15 had virulence plasmid-associated genes distributed between two plasmids, both containing antibiotic resistance genes. Representatives of ST101 were remarkable in all sharing virulence plasmids in which iucC and terAWXYZ were missing and iucB and iucD truncated. The combination of resistance and virulence in plasmids of high-risk clones is extremely worrying. Virulence plasmids were often notably consistent within a lineage, even in the absence of epidemiological links, suggesting they are not moving between types. However, there was a common segment containing multiple resistance genes in virulence plasmids of representatives of both STs 48 and 383.

66 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Persistence of blaCTX-M-15 in the Mwanza city environment is complex, and involves both clonal spread of resistant strains as well as dissemination by commonly occurring IncY plasmids circulating in isolates present in humans, the environment, and in the food chain.
Abstract: Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria are a common cause of healthcare and community-associated infections worldwide. The distribution of such isolates in the environment and their presence in fish as a result of sewage contamination is not well-studied. Here we examined fish and environmental samples from Mwanza city for the presence of ESBL-producing bacteria. From 196 fish sampled from local markets, 26 (13.3 %) contained lactose-fermenting ESBL-producing bacteria, while 39/73 (53.4 %) environmental samples from the same area were ESBL producers. Antibiotic resistance genes, multi locus sequence types (MLST) and plasmid replicon types in 24 selected isolates from both populations underwent whole genome sequencing using Illumina. Nine of eleven sequenced fish isolates had the blaCTX-M-15 gene whereas 12/13 from environment carried blaCTX-M-15. Antibiotic resistance genes encoding resistance to sulfonamides (sul1/sul2), tetracyclines (tet(A)/tet(B)) fluoroquinolones (e.g. aac(6')-lb-cr, qnrS1), aminoglycosides (e.g. aac(3)-lld, strB, strA) and trimethoprim (e.g. dfrA14) were detected. E. coli sequence type ST-38(2) and ST-5173(2) were detected in isolates both from the environment and fish. IncY plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15, qnrS1, strA and strB were detected in five environmental E. coli isolates and in one E. coli isolate from fish. Our data indicate spillage of resistant environmental isolates into Lake Victoria through the sewage system. Persistence of blaCTX-M-15 in the Mwanza city environment is complex, and involves both clonal spread of resistant strains as well as dissemination by commonly occurring IncY plasmids circulating in isolates present in humans, the environment as well as in the food chain.

66 citations


Cites methods from "In Silico Detection and Typing of P..."

  • ...Sequences were analyzed for their multi locus sequence types, transferrable resistance genes, plasmid replicon types and pMLST using MLST 1.8, ResFinder, Plasmidfinder and pMLST software from the Center for Genomic Epidemiology (Larsen et al., 2012; Zankari et al., 2012; Carattoli et al., 2014)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The discovery of mcr-1, a plasmidborne resistance gene mediating resistance to colistin, in isolates obtained from humans and animals raises concern about the emergence of pan-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
Abstract: To the Editor: Recently, Yi-Yun Liu et al. reported on the discovery of mcr-1, a plasmidborne resistance gene mediating resistance to colistin, in isolates obtained from humans and animals (1). Since the original publication, mcr-1 with or without the insertion element ISApl1 has been detected on plasmids of different incompatibility groups, including IncI2, IncHI2, and IncX4, and in many different countries (1–3). Because colistin is a last-resort parenteral antimicrobial drug, the transfer of mcr-1 by conjugation or through mobilizable plasmids raises concern about the emergence of pan-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

66 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
20 May 2019
TL;DR: Results indicate that most MDR S. e nterica serotype Kentucky circulating globally result from the clonal expansion of a single lineage that acquired chromosomal AMR genes 30 years ago, and has continued to diversify and accumulate additional resistances to last-line oral antimicrobials.
Abstract: Salmonella enterica serotype Kentucky can be a common causative agent of salmonellosis, usually associated with consumption of contaminated poultry. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to multiple drugs, including ciprofloxacin, is an emerging problem within this serotype. We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to investigate the phylogenetic structure and AMR content of 121 S. e nterica serotype Kentucky sequence type 198 isolates from five continents. Population structure was inferred using phylogenomic analysis and whole genomes were compared to investigate changes in gene content, with a focus on acquired AMR genes. Our analysis showed that multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. enterica serotype Kentucky isolates belonged to a single lineage, which we estimate emerged circa 1989 following the acquisition of the AMR-associated Salmonella genomic island (SGI) 1 (variant SGI1-K) conferring resistance to ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin, sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. Phylogeographical analysis indicates this clone emerged in Egypt before disseminating into Northern, Southern and Western Africa, then to the Middle East, Asia and the European Union. The MDR clone has since accumulated various substitution mutations in the quinolone-resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of DNA gyrase (gyrA) and DNA topoisomerase IV (parC), such that most strains carry three QRDR mutations which together confer resistance to ciprofloxacin. The majority of AMR genes in the S. e nterica serotype Kentucky genomes were carried either on plasmids or SGI structures. Remarkably, each genome of the MDR clone carried a different SGI1-K derivative structure; this variation could be attributed to IS26-mediated insertions and deletions, which appear to have hampered previous attempts to trace the clone’s evolution using sub-WGS resolution approaches. Several different AMR plasmids were also identified, encoding resistance to chloramphenicol, third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and/or azithromycin. These results indicate that most MDR S. e nterica serotype Kentucky circulating globally result from the clonal expansion of a single lineage that acquired chromosomal AMR genes 30 years ago, and has continued to diversify and accumulate additional resistances to last-line oral antimicrobials. This article contains data hosted by Microreact.

66 citations


Cites methods from "In Silico Detection and Typing of P..."

  • ...0 with the version of the PlasmidFinder database [57] that is distributed in the srst2 package....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A web server providing a convenient way of identifying acquired antimicrobial resistance genes in completely sequenced isolates was created, and the method was evaluated on WGS chromosomes and plasmids of 30 isolates.
Abstract: Objectives Identification of antimicrobial resistance genes is important for understanding the underlying mechanisms and the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance. As the costs of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) continue to decline, it becomes increasingly available in routine diagnostic laboratories and is anticipated to substitute traditional methods for resistance gene identification. Thus, the current challenge is to extract the relevant information from the large amount of generated data.

3,956 citations


"In Silico Detection and Typing of P..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...To extract the relevant information from the large amount of data generated, a Web-based tool, ResFinder, for the identification of acquired or intrinsically present antimicrobial resistance genes in whole-genome data was recently developed (15)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: NCBI’s Conserved Domain Database (CDD) is a resource for the annotation of protein sequences with the location of conserved domain footprints, and functional sites inferred from these footprints.
Abstract: NCBI's Conserved Domain Database (CDD) is a resource for the annotation of protein sequences with the location of conserved domain footprints, and functional sites inferred from these footprints. CDD includes manually curated domain models that make use of protein 3D structure to refine domain models and provide insights into sequence/structure/function relationships. Manually curated models are organized hierarchically if they describe domain families that are clearly related by common descent. As CDD also imports domain family models from a variety of external sources, it is a partially redundant collection. To simplify protein annotation, redundant models and models describing homologous families are clustered into superfamilies. By default, domain footprints are annotated with the corresponding superfamily designation, on top of which specific annotation may indicate high-confidence assignment of family membership. Pre-computed domain annotation is available for proteins in the Entrez/Protein dataset, and a novel interface, Batch CD-Search, allows the computation and download of annotation for large sets of protein queries. CDD can be accessed via http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/cdd/cdd.shtml.

2,934 citations


"In Silico Detection and Typing of P..." refers background in this paper

  • ...In particular, the replicase proteins showing the pfam02387 or pfam01051 conserved domains were assigned to the FII and FIB groups, respectively (31)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results indicated that the inc/rep PCR method demonstrates high specificity and sensitivity in detecting replicons on reference plasmids and also revealed the presence of recurrent and common plasmid in epidemiologically unrelated Salmonella isolates of different serotypes.

2,163 citations


"In Silico Detection and Typing of P..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...A collection of 24 previously characterized and fully FIG 1 Numbers of fully sequenced plasmids (y axis) classified into incompatibility groups occurring in the different bacterial species of the Enterobacteriaceae family....

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  • ...Since 2005, a PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT) scheme has been available that targets in multiplex PCRs the replicons of the major plasmid families occurring in members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (2)....

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  • ...Here, we present two free, easy-to-use Web tools, PlasmidFinder and pMLST, to analyze and classify plasmids from bacterial species of the family Enterobacteriaceae....

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  • ...Here, we describe the design of two new easy-to-use Web tools useful for the rapid identification of plasmids in Enterobacteriaceae species that are of interest for epidemiological and clinical microbiology investigations of the plasmid-associated spread of antimicrobial resistance....

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  • ...This method was initially developed to detect the replicons of plasmids belonging to the 18 major incompatibility (Inc) groups of Enterobacteriaceae species (3)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Bacterial Isolate Genome Sequence Database (BIGSDB) represents a freely available resource that will assist the broader community in the elucidation of the structure and function of bacteria by means of a population genomics approach.
Abstract: The opportunities for bacterial population genomics that are being realised by the application of parallel nucleotide sequencing require novel bioinformatics platforms These must be capable of the storage, retrieval, and analysis of linked phenotypic and genotypic information in an accessible, scalable and computationally efficient manner The Bacterial Isolate Genome Sequence Database (BIGSDB) is a scalable, open source, web-accessible database system that meets these needs, enabling phenotype and sequence data, which can range from a single sequence read to whole genome data, to be efficiently linked for a limitless number of bacterial specimens The system builds on the widely used mlstdbNet software, developed for the storage and distribution of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data, and incorporates the capacity to define and identify any number of loci and genetic variants at those loci within the stored nucleotide sequences These loci can be further organised into 'schemes' for isolate characterisation or for evolutionary or functional analyses Isolates and loci can be indexed by multiple names and any number of alternative schemes can be accommodated, enabling cross-referencing of different studies and approaches LIMS functionality of the software enables linkage to and organisation of laboratory samples The data are easily linked to external databases and fine-grained authentication of access permits multiple users to participate in community annotation by setting up or contributing to different schemes within the database Some of the applications of BIGSDB are illustrated with the genera Neisseria and Streptococcus The BIGSDB source code and documentation are available at http://pubmlstorg/software/database/bigsdb/ Genomic data can be used to characterise bacterial isolates in many different ways but it can also be efficiently exploited for evolutionary or functional studies BIGSDB represents a freely available resource that will assist the broader community in the elucidation of the structure and function of bacteria by means of a population genomics approach

1,943 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A Web-based method for MLST of 66 bacterial species based on whole-genome sequencing data that enables investigators to determine the sequence types of their isolates on the basis of WGS data.
Abstract: Accurate strain identification is essential for anyone working with bacteria. For many species, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is considered the “gold standard” of typing, but it is traditionally performed in an expensive and time-consuming manner. As the costs of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) continue to decline, it becomes increasingly available to scientists and routine diagnostic laboratories. Currently, the cost is below that of traditional MLST. The new challenges will be how to extract the relevant information from the large amount of data so as to allow for comparison over time and between laboratories. Ideally, this information should also allow for comparison to historical data. We developed a Web-based method for MLST of 66 bacterial species based on WGS data. As input, the method uses short sequence reads from four sequencing platforms or preassembled genomes. Updates from the MLST databases are downloaded monthly, and the best-matching MLST alleles of the specified MLST scheme are found using a BLAST-based ranking method. The sequence type is then determined by the combination of alleles identified. The method was tested on preassembled genomes from 336 isolates covering 56 MLST schemes, on short sequence reads from 387 isolates covering 10 schemes, and on a small test set of short sequence reads from 29 isolates for which the sequence type had been determined by traditional methods. The method presented here enables investigators to determine the sequence types of their isolates on the basis of WGS data. This method is publicly available at www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/MLST.

1,620 citations


"In Silico Detection and Typing of P..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...If raw sequence reads are uploaded, they are first assembled (after the sequencing platform is given by the user) as described previously (16)....

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