TY - JOUR
T1 - Horizontal transmission of a multidrug-resistant IncN plasmid isolated from urban wastewater
AU - Yu, Zhuofeng
AU - Wang, Qinqin
AU - Pinilla-Redondo, Rafael
AU - Madsen, Jonas Stenløkke
AU - Clasen, Kamille Anna Dam
AU - Ananbeh, Hanadi
AU - Olesen, Asmus Kalckar
AU - Gong, Zhuang
AU - Yang, Nan
AU - Dechesne, Arnaud
AU - Smets, Barth
AU - Nesme, Joseph
AU - Sørensen, Søren Johannes
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Given that plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer plays a critical role in disseminating ARGs in the environment, it is important to inspect the transfer potential of transmissible plasmids to have a better understanding of whether these mobile ARGs can be hosted by opportunistic pathogens and should be included in One Health’s considerations. In this study, we used a fluorescent-reporter-gene based exogenous isolation approach to capture extended-spectrum beta-lactamases encoding mobile determinants from sewer microbiome samples that enter an urban water system (UWS) in Denmark. After screening and sequencing, we isolated a ∼73 Kbp IncN plasmid (pDK_DARWIN) that harboured and expressed multiple ARGs. Using a dual fluorescent reporter gene system, we showed that this plasmid can transfer into resident urban water communities. We demonstrated the transfer of pDK_DARWIN to microbiome members of both the sewer (in the upstream UWS compartment) and wastewater treatment (in the downstream UWS compartment) microbiomes. Sequence similarity search across curated plasmid repositories revealed that pDK_DARWIN derives from an IncN backbone harboured by environmental and nosocomial Enterobacterial isolates. Furthermore, we searched for pDK_DARWIN sequence matches in UWS metagenomes from three countries, revealing that this plasmid can be detected in all of them, with a higher relative abundance in hospital sewers compared to residential sewers. Overall, this study demonstrates that this IncN plasmid is prevalent across Europe and an efficient vector capable of disseminating multiple ARGs in the urban water systems.
AB - Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Given that plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer plays a critical role in disseminating ARGs in the environment, it is important to inspect the transfer potential of transmissible plasmids to have a better understanding of whether these mobile ARGs can be hosted by opportunistic pathogens and should be included in One Health’s considerations. In this study, we used a fluorescent-reporter-gene based exogenous isolation approach to capture extended-spectrum beta-lactamases encoding mobile determinants from sewer microbiome samples that enter an urban water system (UWS) in Denmark. After screening and sequencing, we isolated a ∼73 Kbp IncN plasmid (pDK_DARWIN) that harboured and expressed multiple ARGs. Using a dual fluorescent reporter gene system, we showed that this plasmid can transfer into resident urban water communities. We demonstrated the transfer of pDK_DARWIN to microbiome members of both the sewer (in the upstream UWS compartment) and wastewater treatment (in the downstream UWS compartment) microbiomes. Sequence similarity search across curated plasmid repositories revealed that pDK_DARWIN derives from an IncN backbone harboured by environmental and nosocomial Enterobacterial isolates. Furthermore, we searched for pDK_DARWIN sequence matches in UWS metagenomes from three countries, revealing that this plasmid can be detected in all of them, with a higher relative abundance in hospital sewers compared to residential sewers. Overall, this study demonstrates that this IncN plasmid is prevalent across Europe and an efficient vector capable of disseminating multiple ARGs in the urban water systems.
KW - IncN
KW - Plasmids
KW - Antibiotic Resistance
KW - Horizontal Gene Transfer
KW - Urban Wastewater
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.115971
DO - 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.115971
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38237397
SN - 0147-6513
VL - 271
JO - Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
JF - Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
M1 - 115971
ER -