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Title: Colistin resistance mcr-1 gene bearing Escherichia coli from the United States

Author
item Meinersmann, Richard - Rick
item LADELY, SCOTT - Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)
item Plumblee Lawrence, Jodie
item Hall, Mary
item Simpson, Sheron
item Ballard, Linda
item Scheffler, Brian
item Genzlinger, Linda
item Cook, Kimberly - Kim

Submitted to: Genome Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/6/2016
Publication Date: 9/1/2016
Citation: Meinersmann, R.J., Ladely, S.R., Plumblee Lawrence, J.R., Hall, M.C., Simpson, S.A., Ballard, L.L., Scheffler, B.E., Genzlinger, L.L., Cook, K.L. 2016. Colistin resistance mcr-1 gene bearing Escherichia coli from the United States. Genome Announcements. 4(5):898-16.

Interpretive Summary: Colistin is a reserved antimicrobial agent used to treat multidrug resistant infections. Recently a gene, mcr-1, was found in China that confers resistance to colistin. We set out to see if the gene could be found in US food animals using an enhanced detection method. This report describes the whole-genome sequencing of the first mcr-1 bearing isolate found in a swine intestinal sample from a South Carolina slaughter facility. The isolate was an Escherichia coli (E. coli) that carried the mcr-1 gene on a plasmid (a small piece of DNA that is independent of the chromosome) that was of the same type as the Chinese finding but had significant differences. Genes were found for other antimicrobial agents were found but the serotype (O160:H40) and sequence-type (ST3234) did not reveal a type that has been associated with enteric or urinary tract infections. Currently available information does not give any evidence on how the resistance gene was transmitted to this animal.

Technical Abstract: Transmissible colistin resistance in the form of an mcr-1 gene bearing plasmid has been recently reported in Enterobacteriaceae in several parts of the world. We report the completed genome sequence of an Escherichia coli isolated from swine in the US that carried the mcr-1 gene on an IncI2 type plasmid.