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Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance
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Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Published on: May 2, 2018

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The evolution of antibiotic resistance islands occurs within the framework of plasmid lineages

Yiqing Wang1, Tal Dagan2

  • 1Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.

Nature Communications
|May 29, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria is driven by resistance islands on plasmids. These islands, containing multiple antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), predominantly form within specific large plasmid lineages, limiting ARG spread between different plasmid types.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacterial pathogens poses a significant global health threat.
  • Mobile genetic elements facilitate the acquisition and consolidation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into resistance islands on plasmids.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the formation of resistance islands is confined to specific multidrug resistance (MDR) plasmid lineages.
  • To analyze the patterns of ARG agglomeration and dissemination across different plasmid types.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 6784 plasmids from 2441 isolates of Escherichia, Salmonella, and Klebsiella.
  • Quantification of ARGs within resistance islands on MDR plasmids.
  • Comparative analysis of resistance island distribution among related and unrelated plasmid lineages.

Main Results:

  • 84% of ARGs on MDR plasmids are located within resistance islands.
  • Rapid evolution and diverse combinations of ARGs are observed within these islands.
  • Resistance islands are predominantly shared among closely related plasmids, with limited dissemination between distantly related lineages.

Conclusions:

  • The emergence of resistance islands is biased towards specific large plasmid lineages, suggesting barriers to ARG spread between lineages.
  • Plasmid genetic properties, host range, and evolutionary history influence ARG dissemination.
  • Mobile genetic elements drive ARG agglomeration within the established framework of plasmid lineages.

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