Clonal dissemination ofPseudomonas aeruginosaST235 carryingblaIMP-6and emergence ofblaGES-24andblaIMP-10on novel genomic islands PAGI-15 and -16 in Korea
A total of 431Pseudomonas aeruginosa(PA) clinical isolates were collected from 29 general hospitals in Korea in 2015. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by the disk diffusion method and MICs of carbapenems were determined by agar dilution method. Carbapenemase genes were amplified by PCR and sequenced and the structures of class 1 integrons surrounding the carbapenemase gene cassettes were analyzed by PCR mapping. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were performed for strain typing. Whole-genome sequencing was carried out to analyze PA genomic islands (PAGIs) carrying theblaIMP-6,blaIMP-10, andblaGES-24genes. The rates of carbapenem-non-susceptible and carbapenemase-producing PA isolates were 34.3% (148/431) and 9.5% (41/431), respectively. IMP-6 was the most prevalent carbapenemase type, followed by VIM-2, IMP-10, and GES-24. All carbapenemase genes were located on class 1 integrons showing 6 different types in chromosome. All isolates harboring carbapenemase genes exhibited genetic relatedness by PFGE (similarity >80%); moreover, all isolates were identified as sequence type 235 (ST235), with the exception of two ST244 isolates by MLST. TheblaIMP-6,blaIMP-10, andblaGES-24genes were found to be located on two novel PAGIs, designated PAGI-15 and PAGI-16. Our data support the clonal spread of an IMP-6-producing PA ST235 strain and the emergence of IMP-10 and GES-24 demonstrates the diversification of carbapenemases in PA in Korea.