Antibiotic Resistance Plasmids Cointegrated into a Megaplasmid Harboring the bla OXA-427 Carbapenemase Gene

OXA-427 is a new class D carbapenemase encountered in different species of Enterobacteriaceae in a Belgian hospital. To study the dispersal of this gene, we performed a comparative analysis of two plasmids containing the bla OXA-427 gene, isolated from a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain and an Enterobacter cloacae complex strain. The two IncA/C2 plasmids containing bla OXA-427 share the same backbone; in the K. pneumoniae strain, however, this plasmid is cointegrated into an IncFIb plasmid, forming a 321-kb megaplasmid with multiple multiresistance regions.