ramR deletion in an Enterobacter hormaechei isolate as a consequence of therapeutic failure to key antibiotics in a long-term hospitalized patient

François Gravey (1, 2) , Vincent Cattoir (3, 4) , Frédéric Ethuin (5) , Laëtitia Fabre (6) , Racha Beyrouthy (7) , Richard Bonnet (7) , Simon Le Hello (2) , François Guérin (2)

1 UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie
2 GRAM 2.0 - Groupe de Recherche sur l'Adaptation Microbienne
3 BRM - ARN régulateurs bactériens et médecine
4 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes [CHU Rennes] = Rennes University Hospital [Ponchaillou]
5 CHU Caen
6 BPE - Bactéries pathogènes entériques
7 CHU Clermont-Ferrand

Genome changes are central to the adaptation of bacteria, especially under antibiotic pressure. The aim of this study was to report phenotypic and genomic adaptations undergone by an clinical strain that became highly resistant to key antimicrobials during a 4-month period in a patient hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU). All six clinical strains isolated in one ICU-hospitalized patient have been studied. MICs regarding 17 antimicrobial molecules have been measured. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were determined on the sequenced genomes. The expression of genes involved in antibiotic resistance among complex strains were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). All the strains belonged to sequence type 66 and were distant by a maximum of nine SNPs. After 3 months of hospitalization, three strains presented a significant increase in MICs for ceftazidime, cefepime, temocillin, ertapenem, tigecycline, ciprofloxacin, and chloramphenicol. Those resistant strains did not acquire additional antibiotic resistance genes but harbored a 16-bp deletion in the gene. This deletion led to upregulated expression of RamA, AcrA, AcrB, and TolC and downregulated expression of OmpF. The Δ mutant harbored the same phenotype as the resistant clinical strains regarding tigecycline, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin. The increased expression of RamA due to partial deletion in the gene led to a cross-resistance phenotype by an increase of antibiotic efflux through the AcrAB-TolC pump and a decrease of antibiotic permeability by porin OmpF. appears to be an important adaptative trait for strains.

Mots clés: Enterobacter cloacae complex; OmpF; RND efflux pumps; chloramphenicol; fluoroquinolone; ramR; tigecycline; whole-genome sequencing

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Microbiologie et Parasitologie

François Gravey, Vincent Cattoir, Frédéric Ethuin, Laëtitia Fabre, Racha Beyrouthy, et al.. ramR deletion in an Enterobacter hormaechei isolate as a consequence of therapeutic failure to key antibiotics in a long-term hospitalized patient. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2020, 64 (10), ⟨10.1128/AAC.00962-20⟩. ⟨hal-02930671⟩