Large-scale genomic survey and characterization of mcr genes carried by foodborne Cronobacter isolates
Qianhui Zhu,
Jinrui Hu,
Na Liu,
Heyuan Qi,
Xiaoli Du,
Zhigang Cui,
Yan Sun,
Yadong Liu,
Songnian Hu,
Linhuan Wu,
Haijian Zhou,
Zilong He,
Juncai Ma
Affiliations
Qianhui Zhu
School of Engineering Medicine, School of Engineering Medicine, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, Interdisciplinary Innovation Institute of Medicine and Engineering, Beihang University , Beijing, Hebei, China
Jinrui Hu
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, Hebei, China
Na Liu
School of Engineering Medicine, School of Engineering Medicine, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, Interdisciplinary Innovation Institute of Medicine and Engineering, Beihang University , Beijing, Hebei, China
Heyuan Qi
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, Hebei, China
Xiaoli Du
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, Hebei, China
Zhigang Cui
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, Hebei, China
Yan Sun
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, Hebei, China
Yadong Liu
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, Hebei, China
Songnian Hu
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, Hebei, China
Linhuan Wu
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, Hebei, China
Haijian Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing, Hebei, China
Zilong He
School of Engineering Medicine, School of Engineering Medicine, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, Interdisciplinary Innovation Institute of Medicine and Engineering, Beihang University , Beijing, Hebei, China
Juncai Ma
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, Hebei, China
ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance has become a worldwide public health and biosafety problem. The clinical efficacy of colistin was jeopardized by the report of the first mobile colistin resistance (mcr) gene, and subsequently, the mcr-gene family of mcr-1 to mcr-10 has been identified. Cronobacter is an emerging foodborne opportunistic pathogen, which can cause neonatal meningitis, bacteremia, and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) by contaminating food. However, the entire picture of foodborne Cronobacter carriage of the mcr genes is not known. Here, we investigated the mcr genes of Cronobacter isolates (N = 877) by whole-genome sequencing. We found 133 of 877 previously undescribed Cronobacter isolates carrying mcr genes. Further genomic analysis revealed that these mcr genes mainly belonged to the mcr-9 and mcr-10. Genomic analysis of the flanking structures of mcr genes revealed that two core flanking structures were prevalent in foodborne Cronobacter isolates, and the flanking structure carrying IS1R was found for the first time in this study. These findings suggest that foodborne Cronobacter isolates carrying the mcr genes already pose a threat to human health. IMPORTANCE Cronobacter is an emerging foodborne opportunistic pathogen, which can cause neonatal meningitis, bacteremia, and NEC by contaminating food. However, the entire picture of foodborne Cronobacter carriage of the mcr genes is not known. Here, we investigated the mcr genes of Cronobacter isolates by whole-genome sequencing and found 133 previously undescribed Cronobacter isolates carrying mcr genes. Further genomic analysis revealed that these mcr genes mainly belonged to the mcr-9 and mcr-10. Genomic analysis of the flanking structures of mcr genes revealed that two core flanking structures were prevalent in foodborne Cronobacter isolates, and the flanking structure carrying IS1R was found for the first time in this study.
