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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, November 2005, p. 4681-4688, Vol. 49, No. 11
0066-4804/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.49.11.4681-4688.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

DNA Sequence and Comparative Genomics of pAPEC-O2-R, an Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Transmissible R Plasmid

Timothy J. Johnson, Kylie E. Siek, Sara J. Johnson, and Lisa K. Nolan*

Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, 1802 Elwood Drive, VMRI #2, Ames, Iowa 50011

Received 9 May 2005/ Returned for modification 13 July 2005/ Accepted 9 August 2005

In this study, a 101-kb IncF plasmid from an avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strain (APEC O2) was sequenced and analyzed, providing the first completed APEC plasmid sequence. This plasmid, pAPEC-O2-R, has functional transfer and antimicrobial resistance-encoding regions. The resistance-encoding region encodes resistance to eight groups of antimicrobial agents, including silver and other heavy metals, quaternary ammonium compounds, tetracycline, sulfonamides, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim, and beta-lactam antimicrobial agents. This region of the plasmid is unique among previously described IncF plasmids in that it possesses a class 1 integron that harbors three gene cassettes and a heavy metal resistance operon. This region spans 33 kb and is flanked by the RepFII plasmid replicon and an assortment of plasmid maintenance genes. pAPEC-O2-R also contains a 32-kb transfer region that is nearly identical to that found in the E. coli F plasmid, rendering it transferable by conjugation to plasmid-less strains of bacteria, including an APEC strain, a fecal E. coli strain from an apparently healthy bird, a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain, and a uropathogenic E. coli strain from humans. Differences in the G+C contents of individual open reading frames suggest that various regions of pAPEC-O2-R had dissimilar origins. The presence of pAPEC-O2-R-like plasmids that encode resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents and that are readily transmissible from APEC to other bacteria suggests the possibility that such plasmids may serve as a reservoir of resistance genes for other bacteria of animal and human health significance.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, 1802 Elwood Drive, VMRI #2, Ames, IA 50011. Phone: (515) 294-3534. Fax: (515) 294-3839. E-mail: lknolan{at}iastate.edu.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, November 2005, p. 4681-4688, Vol. 49, No. 11
0066-4804/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.49.11.4681-4688.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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