Plasmids carrying antimicrobial resistance genes in Enterobacteriaceae
Investigation published in The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
May 1st, 2018
Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is constantly evolving and horizontal gene transfer through plasmids plays a major role. The identification of plasmid characteristics and their association with different bacterial hosts provides crucial knowledge that is essential to understand the contribution of plasmids to the transmission of AMR determinants. Molecular identification of plasmid and strain genotypes elicits a distinction between spread of AMR genes by plasmids and dissemination of these genes by spread of bacterial clones. For this reason several methods are used to type the plasmids, e.g. PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT) or relaxase typing. Currently, there are 28 known plasmid types in Enterobacteriaceae distinguished by PBRT. Frequently reported plasmids [IncF, IncI, IncA/C, IncL (previously designated IncL/M), IncN and IncH] are the ones that bear the greatest variety of resistance genes. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of all known AMR-related plasmid families in Enterobacteriaceae, the resistance genes they carry and their geographical distribution
Rozwandowicz M., Brouwer MSM., Fischer J., Wagenaar J., Gonzalez-Zorn B., Guerra B., Mevius DJ. and Hordijk J.
 | Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Utrecht University (UU). |
| Wageningen Bioveterinary Research. | |
 | Department of Biological Safety. Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). |
 | Servicio de Zoonosis de Transmisión Alimentaria y Resistencia a Antimicrobianos (ZTA). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
| Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
