First detection of multiresistance pRE25-like elements from Enterococcus spp. in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Genetics
• Antimicrobial Resistance

Background:

• Enterococcus pRE25 is a known multiresistance plasmid.
• pRE25-like elements can transfer vancomycin resistance to Staphylococcus aureus.
• The role of pRE25-like elements in multidrug resistance in Staphylococcus species was previously uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the presence and characteristics of pRE25-like elements in multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MDRSP).
• To determine the contribution of these elements to antimicrobial resistance in canine MDRSP strains.

Main Methods:

• Isolation and characterization of 46 MDRSP strains from canine pyoderma in Korea.
• Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and PCR for pRE25-like elements.
• Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of four selected isolates.

Main Results:

• Chromosomal 22-kb pRE25-like elements in MDRSP contained five antimicrobial resistance genes (cat, erm(B), aphA-3, aadK, sat4) and mobile genetic elements.
• These elements showed high homology (99.8% identity) to the enterococcal pRE25 plasmid.
• pRE25-like elements were detected in 52.2% of MDRSP isolates, with diverse sequence types (STs), including 12 novel STs in Korea.

Conclusions:

• pRE25-like elements are prevalent in MDRSP from companion dogs in Korea.
• These elements likely contribute to the multidrug resistance phenotype in these staphylococcal strains.
• Continuous surveillance is recommended for pRE25-like elements in staphylococci from both animals and humans due to close human-animal contact.