Abstract
In recent years, epidemiological studies of infectious agents have focused mainly on the pathogen and stable components of its genome. The use of these stable components makes it possible to know the evolutionary or epidemiological relationships of the isolates of a particular pathogen. Under this approach, focused on the pathogen, the identification of resistance genes is a complementary stage of a bacterial characterization process or an appendix of its epidemiological characterization, neglecting its genetic components’ acquisition or dispersal mechanisms. Today we know that a large part of antibiotic resistance is associated with mobile elements. Corynebacterium striatum, a bacterium from the normal skin microbiota, is also an opportunistic pathogen. In recent years, reports of infections and nosocomial outbreaks caused by antimicrobial multidrug-resistant C. striatum strains have been increasing worldwide. Despite the different existing mobile genomic elements, there is evidence that acquired resistance genes are coupled to insertion sequences in C. striatum. This perspective article reviews the insertion sequences linked to resistance genes, their relationship to evolutionary lineages, epidemiological characteristics, and the niches the strains inhabit. Finally, we evaluate the potential of the insertion sequences for their application as a descriptor of epidemiological scenarios, allowing us to anticipate the emergence of multidrug-resistant lineages.
Highlights
Genomic publications in recent years have reinforced the essential role of the niche in the genomic structure of bacteria (Matlock et al, 2021; Shaw et al, 2021)
A specific example is IS6110 in the genus Mycobacterium, where this Insertion sequences (IS) has been used as a typing tool
The number of copies of this element would be related to the species identification and the strain typing, demonstrating an essential value in the epidemiology of Mycobacterium spp
Summary
Genomic publications in recent years have reinforced the essential role of the niche in the genomic structure of bacteria (Matlock et al, 2021; Shaw et al, 2021). Whereas insertion sequences have been associated with genes that confer advantageous phenotypes, including resistance genes, studying and relating them could help to better understand the emergence, spread, and persistence of resistance in C. striatum, making the IS important epidemiological descriptors. In corynebacteria of clinical importance, several plasmids are known to confer resistance (Deb and Nath, 1999; Leyton et al, 2021), such as pTP10 of C. striatum, pNG2 of Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and pJA144188 of Corynebacterium resistens They include a significant content of insertion sequences (Tauch et al, 2003; Schröder et al, 2012), suggesting a relation between IS, plasmids, and C. striatum. A member of the IS30 family associated with daptomycin resistance was recently reported (Gotoh et al, 2021), which together with this perspective highlights the importance of IS as evolutionary triggers in C. striatum
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