Genetic Diversity in Antimicrobial Resistance Determinants Among Pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa in India

The drastic rise in antibiotic resistance has become a global challenge, including India, due to high morbidity. The delayed identification and lack of treatment are the major causes of death. However, there is a shortage of precise information on the specific resistance pattern and sequence types of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from India that can help in diagnostics and therapy. A total of 16 clinical isolates were collected from the western region of India, along with 181 P. aeruginosa genomes of India from public database were retrieved and thoroughly analysed for antibiotics resistance determinants for associated sequence types and O-serotypes using different bioinformatics tools. Of all collected isolates (n = 16), 9 were extensively drug-resistant (XDR), 6 were multidrug-resistant (MDR), and only 1 isolate was susceptible to selected antibiotics. ST357 (n = 23; 11.6%) was the most frequent, followed by ST308, and ST1203. In serotyping, O11 (n = 85; 43%) was most prevalent. A novel ST4937 was reported and submitted to PubMLST. bla_NDM-1 carbapenemase was found in (n = 45; 22.8%) isolates, whereas class D bla_OXA-488 was present in (n = 38; 19.2%) isolates, further, several variants were found for class C bla_PDC genes, where bla_PDC-3 and bla_PDC-19a were found to be predominant. We discovered that the amounts of carbapenemases and extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) genes were lower in India. This can be a relief sometimes, but a rise in high-risk clones could lead to longer hospital stays and more deaths. Therefore, ongoing surveillance of these strains is essential for effective infection management and containment of their spread.