Complete Sequence and Molecular Epidemiology of IncK Epidemic Plasmid EncodingblaCTX-M-14

Antimicrobial drug resistance is a global challenge for the 21st century with the emergence of resistant bacterial strains worldwide.Transferable resistance to β-lactam antimicrobial drugs, mediated by production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), is of particular concern.In 2004, an ESBLcarrying IncK plasmid (pCT) was isolated from cattle in the United Kingdom.The sequence was a 93,629bp plasmid encoding a single antimicrobial drug resistance gene, bla CTX-M-14 .From this information, PCRs identifying novel features of pCT were designed and applied to isolates from several countries, showing that the plasmid has disseminated worldwide in bacteria from humans and animals.Complete DNA sequences can be used as a platform to develop rapid epidemiologic tools to identify and trace the spread of plasmids in clinically relevant pathogens, thus facilitating a better understanding of their distribution and ability to transfer between bacteria of humans and animals.Bacterial plasmids are key vectors of horizontal gene transfer, mediating the mobilization of genetic material from 1 bacterium to another.Their ability to capture DNA and to spread within and between bacterial species by conjugation facilitates the rapid dissemination of potentially beneficial genes through a bacterial population.These genes might alter virulence of