Species Transferability of Carbapenemase-2 Isolated from a High-Risk Clone of ST410.

Sequence type 410 (ST410) of is an extraintestinal pathogen associated with multi drug resistance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the horizontal propagation pathway of a highrisk clone of ST410 that produces carbapenemase (KPC). blaKPCencoding and isolates were evaluated, and complete sequencing and comparative analysis of blaKPC-encoding plasmids from and , antimicrobial susceptibility tests, polymerase chain reaction, multilocus sequence typing, and conjugal transfer of plasmids were performed. Whole-genome sequencing was performed for plasmids mediating KPC-2 production in and clinical isolates. Strains CPEc171209 and CPKp171210 were identified as ST410 and ST307, respectively. CPEc171209 harbored five plasmids belonging to serotype O8:H21, which is in the antimicrobial-resistant clade C4/H24. The CPKp171210 isolate harbored three plasmids. Both strains harbored various additional antimicrobial resistance genes. The IncX3 plasmid pECBHS_9_5 harbored -2 within a truncated Tn transposon, which also contains -182 with duplicated conjugative elements. This plasmid displayed 100% identity with the IncX3 plasmid pKPBHS_10_3 from the CPKp171210 ST307 strain. The genes responsible for the conjugal transfer of the IncX3 plasmid included clusters and genes coding the type IV pilus. ST410 can be transmitted between patients, posing an elevated risk in clinical settings. The emergence of a KPC-producing strain (ST410) is concerning because the -2-bearing plasmids may carry treatment resistance across species barriers. Transgenic translocation occurs among carbapenem-resistant bacteria, which may spread rapidly via horizontal migration.