Keshia Bel’s research while affiliated with University of Amsterdam and other places

Resistance plasmids play a crucial role in the transfer of antimicrobial resistance from the veterinary sector to human healthcare. In this study plasmids from foodborne Escherichia coli isolates with a known (ES)BL or tetracycline resistance were sequenced entirely with short- and long-read technologies to obtain insight into their composition and to identify driving factors for spreading. Resistant foodborne E. coli isolates often contained several plasmids coding for resistance to various antimicrobials. Most plasmids were large and contained multiple resistance genes in addition to the selected resistance gene. The majority of plasmids belonged to the IncI, IncF and IncX incompatibility groups. Conserved and variable regions could be distinguished in each of the plasmid groups. Clusters containing resistance genes were located in the variable regions. Tetracycline and (extended spectrum) beta-lactamase resistance genes were each situated in separate clusters, but sulphonamide, macrolide and aminoglycoside formed one cluster and lincosamide and aminoglycoside another. In most plasmids, addiction systems were found to maintain presence in the cell.

Background The ability of bacteria to acquire resistance to antibiotics relies to a large extent on their capacity for genome modification. Prokaryotic genomes are highly plastic and can utilize horizontal gene transfer, point mutations, and gene deletions or amplifications to realize genome expansion and rearrangements. The contribution of point mutations to de novo acquisition of antibiotic resistance is well-established. In this study, the internal genome rearrangement of Escherichia coli during to de novo acquisition of antibiotic resistance was investigated using whole-genome sequencing. Results Cells were made resistant to one of the four antibiotics and subsequently to one of the three remaining. This way the initial genetic rearrangements could be documented together with the effects of an altered genetic background on subsequent development of resistance. A DNA fragment including ampC was amplified by a factor sometimes exceeding 100 as a result of exposure to amoxicillin. Excision of prophage e14 was observed in many samples with a double exposure history, but not in cells exposed to a single antibiotic, indicating that the activation of the SOS stress response alone, normally the trigger for excision, was not sufficient to cause excision of prophage e14. Partial deletion of clpS and clpA occurred in strains exposed to enrofloxacin and tetracycline. Other deletions were observed in some strains, but not in replicates with the exact same exposure history. Various insertion sequence transpositions correlated with exposure to specific antibiotics. Conclusions Many of the genome rearrangements have not been reported before to occur during resistance development. The observed correlation between genome rearrangements and specific antibiotic pressure, as well as their presence in independent replicates indicates that these events do not occur randomly. Taken together, the observed genome rearrangements illustrate the plasticity of the E. coli genome when exposed to antibiotic stress. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-5353-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.