Genomic insights into the ESBL and MCR-1-producing ST648 Escherichiacoli with multi-drug resistance

Polymyxin acts as an ultimate line of refuge against the severe infections by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. This conventional idea is challenged dramatically by the recent discovery of mobile colistin resistance gene (mcr-1) is prevalent in food animals and human beings worldwide. More importantly, the mcr-1 gene was found to be co-localized with other antibiotic resistance genes, raising the possibility that super-bugs with pan-drug resistance are emerging. However, little is reported on the genomes of the mcr-1-positive bacterial host reservoirs. Here we report genome sequencing of three human isolates of the mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli (E15004, E15015 and E15017) and define general features through analyses of bacterial comparative genomics. Further genomic mining together with sequence typing allowed us to elucidate that the MCR-1-carrying E. coli E15017 belongs to the sequence type ST648 and coproduces extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). Given the fact that ST648 has been known to associate with either New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 or ESBL, our results highlighted the possibility of ST648 as an epidemic clone with multidrug resistances.