Genomic basis of antimicrobial resistance in non-toxigenic Clostridium difficile in Southeast Asia

Abstract

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Despite being incapable of causing Clostridium difficile infection, non-toxigenic C. difficile (NTCD) may still be relevant. This study explored the role of NTCD as a reservoir of accessory antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in NTCD from Southeast Asia. This region has high rates of antimicrobial use, a high prevalence of NTCD and phenotypic AMR in such strains. More than half of the 28 NTCD strains investigated had at least one accessory AMR gene on mobile genetic elements (MGEs) which were similar to the elements found in other bacteria, including Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and Streptococcus suis, both of which are found in the pig gut. Thus, C. difficile may facilitate the movement of AMR genes between different hosts within a wide range of pathogenic bacteria. C. difficile β-lactamases were not located on MGEs and were unlikely to be transferred. Concordance between the MLSB resistance genotype and phenotype was low, suggesting multiple resistance mechanisms, many of which remain unknown. On the contrary, there was a high concordance between resistance genotype and phenotype for both fluoroquinolones and rifaximin. From an epidemiological perspective, NTCD populations in Southeast Asia comprised members of evolutionary clades 1 and 4, which are thought to have originated from Europe and Asia, respectively. This population structure reflects the close relationship between the people of the two regions.

RAS ID

32540

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2020

ISSN

10759964

Volume

66

Funding Information

Funding information available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1075996420301463?via%3Dihub#!

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

Copyright

subscription content

Publisher

Elsevier

Comments

Imwattana, K., Kiratisin, P., Riley, T. V., & Knight, D. R. (2020). Genomic basis of antimicrobial resistance in non-toxigenic Clostridium difficile in Southeast Asia. Anaerobe, 66, article 102290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2020.102290

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.anaerobe.2020.102290