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Genetic and Functional Characterization of an MCR-3-Like Enzyme-Producing Escherichia coli Isolate Recovered from
Nicolas Kieffer1,2, Patrice Nordmann1,2,3,4, Andrea Micke Moreno5
1Medical and Molecular Microbiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Abstract:
A collection of 126 pigs was screened for carriage of colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in a farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Out of this collection, eight colistin-resistant Escherichia coli isolates were recovered, including one from Minas Gerais State producing a new MCR-3 variant (MCR-3.12). Analysis of the lipopolysaccharide revealed that MCR-3.12 had a function similar to that of MCR-1 and MCR-2 as a result of the addition of a phosphoethanolamine group to the lipid A moiety. Genetic analysis showed that the mcr-3.12 gene was carried by an IncA/C2 plasmid and was embedded in an original genetic environment. This study reports the occurrence of the MCR-3-like determinant in South America and is the first to demonstrate the functionality of this group of enzymes as a phosphoethanolamine transferase.
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