External environments represent a vast repository of antibiotic resistance and have been proposed as a reservoir of resistance genes available for exchange with clinical pathogens. However, plasmid, as one of the most important vectors of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), the predominant plasmidic ARGs propagation mechanisms across environment and clinic are not fully understood. Here, transmission of plasmid as well as plasmidic ARGs across environment and clinic were rigorously investigated by performing a genomic analysis of a large complete plasmid genome collection. Many more ARGs were enriched in clinically-relevant conjugative resistance plasmids compared with that isolated from environmental sources, which could be attributed to higher horizontal gene transfer (HGT) frequency of plasmidic ARGs in the clinic. Additionally, transmission of plasmidic ARGs across clinic and environment was also observed, exhibiting lower HGT frequency than that within clinic or environment. Among HGT events across environment and clinic, IS (insertion sequence), especially for IS26, was of importance to disseminate ARGs among clinically-relevant pathogens (i.e., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium, etc.) between these ecological boundaries. Therefore, this study informs the One Health perspective to develop effective strategies that curtail plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance propagation.

Transmission of plasmid across clinic and environment contributes to ARG propagation

ACS Spring 2022

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