Whole genome sequence of an Escherichia coli ST131 strain isolated from a patient with bloodstream infection in China co-harbouring bla, bla, bla, qnrS1, aac(3)-IIa and aac(6')-Ib-cr genes.

OBJECTIVES

Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) is an international multiresistant high-risk clone associated with a large number of clinical infections. Here we report the draft genome sequence of a ST131 clinical isolate (EC538) obtained from a patient with bloodstream infection (BSI) in China co-harbouring the bla, bla, bla, qnrS1, aac(3)-IIa and aac(6')-Ib-cr genes.

METHODS

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of E. coli EC538 was performed. DNA of E. coli EC538 was extracted and was sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform. Generated sequence reads were assembled using CLC Genomics Workbench. Contigs were annotated using Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology (RAST), and further bioinformatics analyses were performed.

RESULTS

The total number of assembled bases was 5 420 040bp, with 5611 protein-coding sequences. Escherichia coli EC538 belongs to ST131 by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The presence of bla, bla and bla genes was detected in addition to other antimicrobial resistance genes conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, macrolides and rifampicin.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first report of an E. coli ST131 strain from a BSI co-harbouring bla, bla, bla, qnrS1, aac(3)-IIa and aac(6')-Ib-cr genes in China. The presented genome sequence of a carbapenemase-producing E. coli ST131 strain could provide further insight into the genomic diversity of this highly virulent, multiresistant and successfully pandemic bacterial pathogen.