Emergence of the colistin resistance gene mcr-1 and its variant in several uncommon species of Enterobacteriaceae from commercial poultry farm surrounding environments

Abstract

The colistin resistance gene mcr-1 has been detected in multiple members of Enterobacteriaceae family. Here, we report the emergence of mcr-1 in Providencia alcalifaciens and a mcr-1 variant, named mcr-1.3, in Raoultella planticola. Both of the mcr-1-carrying plasmids in these two isolates belong to IncI2 type of plasmids, but they are different in sizes and genetic characteristics. We also detected the mcr-1 gene in one Enterobacter cloacae isolate, however, the mcr-1-carrying plasmid is distinct from the previous reports. Conjugation assay showed that mcr-1-carrying plasmids in P. alcalifaciens and E. cloacae were successfully transferred into recipient E. coli strains. It is worth noting that the transferability of mcr-1-carrying plasmid from E. cloacae was enhanced once it entered into E. coli hosts, which might further accelerate the dissemination of mcr-1 among Enterobacteriaceae. These findings further expand our knowledge of the mcr-1-carrying species in Enterobacteriaceae.