Plasmid-based replicon typing: Useful tool in demonstrating the silent pandemic of plasmid-mediated multi-drug...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Genetics
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Enterobacterales pose a significant challenge in healthcare settings, increasing treatment costs and impacting therapeutic outcomes.
• Conjugative plasmids are a primary mechanism for the acquisition and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes within bacterial populations.
• PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT) is a crucial molecular tool for identifying plasmid families and understanding their role in resistance spread.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of resistance plasmids in MDR Enterobacterales isolates from a tertiary care hospital.
• To identify specific plasmid replicon types and families associated with antimicrobial resistance in these clinical isolates.

Main Methods:

• One hundred MDR Enterobacterales isolates from clinical samples were analyzed.
• PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT) was employed to identify plasmid families and replicon types present in the isolates.

Main Results:

• Twenty-one plasmid replicon types, belonging to 85% of the 28 known families, were detected.
• The IncF plasmid family was most frequent, with IncFIA (43%), IncFII (29%), and IncFIB (28%) being the most common replicon types.
• The IncX plasmid family, particularly the X3 replicon (14%), was also prevalent, and both IncF and IncX are known to harbor diverse resistance genes.

Conclusions:

• The high prevalence of IncF and IncX plasmids in MDR Enterobacterales underscores their importance in spreading antimicrobial resistance.
• Implementing stringent hospital infection control measures is essential to prevent plasmid transmission.
• Exploring novel plasmid curing techniques could restore susceptibility to existing antibiotics, offering a promising therapeutic avenue.