Molecular epidemiology and virulence of Escherichia coli O16:H5-ST131: comparison with H30 and H30-Rx subclones of O25b:H4-ST131.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of the clonal subgroup O16:H5-ST131 and the H30 and H30-Rx subclones among E. coli isolates causing extraintestinal infections and to know their virulence potential. The ST131 clonal group accounted for 490 (16%) of the 2995 isolates obtained from clinical samples in five Spanish hospitals during the study period (2005-2012). Among those 490 ST131 isolates, 456 belonged to serotype O25b:H4, 27 to O16:H5 and seven were O-non-typeable:H4 (ONT:H4). All 27 O16:H5 isolates showed fimH41, whereas fimH30 and fimH22 alleles were the most frequently detected among O25b:H4 isolates. The majority (381/490; 78%) of ST131 isolates belonged to H30 subclone, and 302 of 381 (79%) H30 isolates belonged to the H30-Rx subclone. Of the 27 O16:H5 isolates, 48% produced CTX-M-14; however, none produced CTX-M-15. In contrast, 46% of O25b:H4 isolates produced CTX-M-15 while only 2% produced CTX-M-14. More than a half of the O16:H5 isolates (56%) showed the ExPEC status which was significantly more prevalent within O25b:H4 isolates (81%) (P<0.01), especially among H30-Rx (97%) isolates. In the present study, a modified virotype scheme was applied within which approximately half (52%) of the O16:H5 isolates showed the C1 specific virotype. Despite their low virulence-gene score (mean of virulence genes 6.4 versus 8.5 in O25b:H4 isolates), six out of the 10 O16:H5 isolates assayed showed high virulence in the mouse model of sepsis (killed 90-100% of mice challenged). Furthermore, four O16:H5 isolates of virotypes A and C1, carrying K2 variant of group II capsule, showed lethality at 24h. Thus, certain O16:H5 fimH41 isolates show a similar in vivo virulence to that reported with the highly virulent O25b:H4 H30-Rx isolates (Mora et al., PLOS ONE 2014, e87025), supporting their potential virulence for humans.

Dahbi G ，Mora A ，Mamani R ，López C ，Alonso MP ，Marzoa J ，Blanco M ，Herrera A ，Viso S ，García-Garrote F ，Tchesnokova V ，Billig M ，de la Cruz F ，de Toro M ，González-López JJ ，Prats G ，Chaves F ，Martínez-Martínez L ，López-Cerezo L ，Denamur E ，Blanco J ... -  《-》

Molecular epidemiology of Escherichia coli sequence type 131 and its H30/H30-Rx subclones recovered from extra-intestinal infections: first report of OXA-48 producing ST131 clone from Iran.

Hojabri Z ，Mirmohammadkhani M ，Kamali F ，Ghassemi K ，Taghavipour S ，Pajand O ... -  《-》

Virulence patterns in a murine sepsis model of ST131 Escherichia coli clinical isolates belonging to serotypes O25b:H4 and O16:H5 are associated to specific virotypes.

Mora A ，Dahbi G ，López C ，Mamani R ，Marzoa J ，Dion S ，Picard B ，Blanco M ，Alonso MP ，Denamur E ，Blanco J ... -  《PLoS One》

Emergence and spread of O16-ST131 and O25b-ST131 clones among faecal CTX-M-producing Escherichia coli in healthy individuals in Hunan Province, China.

The objectives of this study were to determine CTX-M-producing Escherichia coli ST131 strain prevalence in stool specimens from healthy subjects in central China and to molecularly characterize clonal groups. From November 2013 to January 2014, stool specimens from healthy individuals in Hunan Province were screened for ESBL-producing E. coli using chromogenic medium and CTX-M genotypes and phylogenetic groups were determined. ST131 clonal groups were detected by PCR and characterized for antibiotic resistance, fimH, gyrA and parC alleles, plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants, virulence genotypes and PFGE patterns. Among 563 subjects, 287 (51.0%) exhibited the presence of faecal ESBL-producing E. coli, all of which produced CTX-M enzymes. The most common CTX-M genotypes were CTX-M-14 (48.4%), CTX-M-15 (27.5%) and CTX-M-27 (15.0%). Of the 287 CTX-M-producing isolates, 32 (11.1%) belonged to the ST131 clone. O16-ST131 isolates were dominant (75%) and contained the fimH41 allele. The remaining eight (25%) ST131 isolates were of the O25b subgroup and contained fimH30 or fimH41. Ciprofloxacin resistance was found in 100% of the O25b-ST131 isolates, whereas only 8% of the O16-ST131 isolates were resistant. All of the O25b-ST131 isolates except one showed gyrA1AB and parC1aAB mutations; most of the O16-ST131 isolates had gyrA1A and parC1b mutations. The virulence genotypes of O16-ST131 resembled those of the O25b-ST131 isolates. The 32 ST131 isolates formed one large group at the 64% similarity level. They comprised 15 PFGE groups (defined at ≥85% similarity). O16-ST131 isolates have emerged as the predominant type of ST131 isolate in faecal CTX-M-producing E. coli in healthy individuals in China.

Zhong YM ，Liu WE ，Liang XH ，Li YM ，Jian ZJ ，Hawkey PM ... -  《-》

Emergence of new variants of ST131 clonal group among extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli producing extended-spectrum β-lactamases.

Having shown that Lucus Augusti Hospital in Lugo, Spain, has been affected by Escherichia coli clone O25:H4-ST131 producing CTX-M-15, the present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of this clone among the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli isolates and to identify novel variants of this clone. Of the 77 ESBL-producing E. coli isolated between January and April 2012, 47 (61%) were identified as belonging to the ST131 clonal group, comprising 38 O25b:H4-B2-ST131 (34 CTX-M-15, 2 CTX-M-14, 1 CTX-M-1 and 1 CTX-M-27), 7 O-non-typeable:H4-B2-ST131 (all CTX-M-15) and 2 O16:H5-B2-ST131 (both CTX-M-14). The 47 isolates of ST131 exhibited a significantly higher virulence score (mean of 9.1 virulence genes) compared with the 30 non-ST131 isolates (mean of 4.3 virulence genes). A new virulence profile (fimH, papG II, sat, cnf1, hlyA, iucD, kpsM II-K5, traT, malX, usp) was detected among O25b:H4-B2-ST131 isolates belonging to the new Pasteur sequence type PST621. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the O-non-typeable:H4-B2-ST131 and O16:H5-B2-ST131 variants in Europe.

Dahbi G ，Mora A ，López C ，Alonso MP ，Mamani R ，Marzoa J ，Coira A ，García-Garrote F ，Pita JM ，Velasco D ，Herrera A ，Viso S ，Blanco JE ，Blanco M ，Blanco J ... -  《-》