Replicon typing of plasmids in environmental Achromobacter sp. producing quinolone-resistant determinants

This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance profile to quinolones, the presence of quinolone-resistant determinants and the plasmid replicon typing in environmental Achromobacter sp. isolated from Brazil. Soil and water samples were used for bacterial isolation. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by minimum inhibitory concentration method. The detection of mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) genes, the presence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes, and plasmid replicons were performed by PCR. A total of 16 isolates was obtained from different cultures, cities, and states of Brazil. All isolates were non-susceptible to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and levofloxacin. Some mutations in QRDR genes were found, including Gln-83-Leu and Asp-87-Asn in the gyrA and Gln-80-Ile and Asp-84-Ala in the parC. Different PMQR genes were detected, such as qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, oqxA, and oqxB. Three different plasmid families were detected, being most presented the ColE-like, followed by IncFIB and IncA/C. The presence of different PMQR genes and plasmids in the isolates of the present study shows that environmental bacteria can act as reservoir of important genes of resistance to fluoroquinolones, which is of great concern, due to the potential of horizontal dissemination of these genes. Besides that, there are no studies reporting these results in Achromobacter sp. isolates.