Abstract
Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are mobile genetic elements that contribute to horizontal gene transfer. The aim of this work was to study different types of ICEs in clinical isolates of the emergent pathogen Shewanella spp., to compare their transfer efficiency and their ability to integrate a new host. Here we show that 3 out of 10 clinical isolates contained an ICE. Two of these elements were similar to ICEs from the SXT/R391 family and the other one was similar to ICESh95, a hybrid platform. Mating assays showed that these elements co-exist for several generations in the same host. Furthermore, transfer rates and competition assays between ICESh95 and ICESh392, an SXT-like element, suggest that the latter has evolved into a well-oiled machine that efficiently spread to different bacteria. Our results provide strong evidence of the role that ICEs play in the dissemination of genetic traits in nature and the implications that they have in the global threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Highlights
Different Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) from the SXT/R391 family have been found in environmental and clinical strains of Shewanella[7,8,9,10,11], a gram-negative rod that thrives in aquatic niches[12]
Our study evidenced that Shewanella spp. can carry different ICEs platforms, which in turn can spread to other hosts playing an important role in horizontal gene transfer (HGT)
We looked for ICEs from the SXT/R391 family and ICESh95-like in 10 clinical strains, which were obtained from a public hospital of Buenos Aires, Argentina[10,18,19]
Summary
Different ICEs from the SXT/R391 family have been found in environmental and clinical strains of Shewanella[7,8,9,10,11], a gram-negative rod that thrives in aquatic niches[12]. In recent years there has been an increase in the reports on Shewanella spp. isolated from clinical samples establishing it as an emerging opportunistic pathogen[13,14,15,16,17]. This bacterium is known for its potential application in bioremediation, its versatile metabolism, and its genetic plasticity[12]. We suggest that the higher occurrence of ICEs from the type I SXT/R391 family in nature instead of hybrid elements is the result of an efficient transfer machinery. This study provides additional information on the impact of ICEs in bacterial genome evolution and on their contribution in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance determinants from environmental niches to clinical settings
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