PCR-based typing of IncC plasmids

IncC (A/C₂) plasmids are known to play an important role in the spread of multiple antibiotic resistance determinants, including extended-spectrum β-lactamases and carbapenamases, amongst Gram negative bacterial populations. The ability to identify and track these plasmids is valuable in epidemiological and clinical studies. A recent comparative analysis of the backbones of sequenced IncC plasmids identified two distinct lineages, type 1 and type 2, with different evolutionary histories. Here, a simple PCR method to rapidly assign plasmids to one of these lineages by detecting variable regions in the backbone was developed. This PCR scheme uses two primer pairs to assign the plasmid to a lineage, and an additional two PCRs can be used to detect the i1 and i2 insertions, which are only found in type 2. PCRs were also developed to detect the presence or absence of the sul2-containing ARI-B island, which is found in some plasmids belonging to both type 1 and type 2, and the ARI-A island found in most type 1 plasmids. The PCR strategy was validated using sequenced type 1 plasmids pRMH760 and pDGO100, and the type 2 plasmid pSRC119-A/C, and a collection of non-IncC plasmids in Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Klebsiella pneumoniae backgrounds. An IncC plasmid detected in an antibiotic susceptible commensal E. coli isolate was examined and found to be a type 1, lacking any antibiotic resistance islands and missing a large backbone segment. Examination of pIP40a, an IncC plasmid isolated in Paris in 1969, by PCR revealed that it belongs to type 1 but lacks ARI-A. However, it includes both ends of the integrative element GIsul2, whereas only remnants of one end of this element are found in more recently isolated IncC plasmids. The sequence of pIP40a was determined and confirmed the assignment to type 1 and revealed the presence of a complete copy of GIsul2.