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Genome plasticity as a paradigm of antibiotic resistance spread in ESKAPE pathogens

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Abstract

The major reason behind the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is persistent selective pressure in the environment encountered by bacteria. Genome plasticity plays a crucial role in dissemination of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens. Mobile genetic elements harboring ARGs are reported to dodge bacterial immune system and mediate horizontal gene transfer (HGT) under selective pressure. Residual antibiotic pollutants develop selective pressures that force the bacteria to lose their defense mechanisms (CRISPR-cas) and acquire resistance. The present study targets the ESKAPE organisms (namely, Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.) causing various nosocomial infections and emerging multidrug-resistant species. The role of CRISPR-cas systems in inhibition of HGT in prokaryotes and its loss due to presence of various stressors in the environment is also focused in the study. IncF and IncH plasmids were identified in all strains of E. faecalis and K. pneumoniae, carrying Beta-lactam and fluoroquinolone resistance genes, whereas sal3, phiCTX, and SEN34 prophages harbored aminoglycoside resistance genes (aadA, aac). Various MGEs present in selected environmental niches that aid the bacterial genome plasticity and transfer of ARGs contributing to its spread are also identified.

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Acknowledgements

The funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement number 820718 and the European Commission and the Department of Science and Technology of India (DST) are gratefully acknowledged for carrying out the work. The manuscript has been checked for plagiarism by Knowledge Resource Centre, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, India, and assigned KRC No.: CSIR-NEERI/KRC/2021/MARCH/EBGD-DRC/1

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S. D. performed literature search, data analysis, data curation, and original draft preparation; S. B. performed data analysis and drafting of the manuscript; S. S. helped in the drafting of the manuscript and literature review; A. K. supervision and reviewed the manuscript; R. D. supervision and reviewed the manuscript; N. D. conceptualized and designed the study, supervision for data curation, and final manuscript drafting.

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Correspondence to Nishant A. Dafale.

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Das, S., Bombaywala, S., Srivastava, S. et al. Genome plasticity as a paradigm of antibiotic resistance spread in ESKAPE pathogens. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 40507–40519 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19840-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19840-5

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