Plasmid dynamics driving carbapenemase gene dissemination in healthcare environments: a nationwide analysis of closed Enterobacterales genomes
Vanessa Koh, Rodrigo Cabrera, Prakki Sai Rama Sridatta, Natascha May Thevasagayam, Ze Qin Lim, Kalisvar Marimuthu, Indumathi Venkatachalam, Benjamin Pei Zhi Cherng, Raymond Fong, Surinder Pada, Say Tat Ooi, Nares Smitasin, Koh Cheng Thoon, Li Yang Hsu, Tse Hsien Koh, Partha Pratim De, Thean Yen Tan, Douglas Chan, Rama Narayana Deepak, Nancy Wen Sim Tee, Yunn‐Hwen Gan, William Matlock, David W. Eyre, Michelle Ang, Raymond Tzer Pin Lin, Jeanette Teo, Oon Tek Ng, the Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Singapore (CaPES) Study Group
Abstract
, respectively, during inter-patient clonal spread and across multiple species (and sequence types) compared to other genetic settings. We propose that a crucial factor enabling evolutionarily successful carbapenemase plasmid genotypes to achieve hyperendemicity in the population is the maintenance of conserved genomes, thus minimizing fitness costs to their hosts.