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Updated: Jan 9, 2026

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Published on: September 28, 2022
P1-like phage-plasmids drive blaCTX-M-27 transmission through lysogenic conversion and transposition
1MOST-USDA Joint Research Center for Food Safety, School of Agriculture and Biology, and State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
P1-like phage-plasmids (PPs) are hybrid mobile genetic elements that integrate features of both P1-like phages and plasmids. This study aimed to elucidate transfer mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) blaCTX-M-27 mediated by P1-like PPs in S. Indiana.
Methods:
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing determined the antimicrobial resistance profiles of S. Indiana isolates. Phylogenomic analysis inferred the evolutionary structure of P1-like PPs and P1-carrying isolates, respectively. Conjugation, lytic infection, and lysogenic conversion assays assessed the transferability, lytic activity, and lysogeny potential of P1-like PPs. Transmission electron microscopy characterized P1-like bacteriophages morphology. Transposition assays quantified the transposition frequencies of Tn1722 derivatives, and genome walking identified insertion sites and nucleotide composition biases.
Results:
Among 147 S. Indiana isolates, 9 (6.1%) carried P1 elements, including 6 with blaCTX-M-27. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the secondary acquisition of blaCTX-M-27 and host-specific association with P1-like PPs in S. Indiana. Comparative genomic showed that the P1-like PP p14076B lacked key variable phage regions but harbored a Tn1722 derivative carrying blaCTX-M-27. Despite lacking plasmid-like conjugative capability, p14076B retained the ability to infect through lysogenic conversion. Transposition assays confirmed that the Tn1722 derivative mediated the transfer of blaCTX-M-27, with AT/GC skew shifts at insertion sites, and the tnpA gene significantly influenced transposition frequency.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight that the Tn1722 derivative mediates intra-host transfer of blaCTX-M-27 through transposition, while lysogenic conversion of P1-like PPs facilitates inter-species dissemination. These insights provide critical understanding of the role of P1-like PPs in the spread of ARGs.
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