Novel resistance ICEs carrying the bla_FIM-1 metallo--lactamase gene from an ST235 Pseudomonas aeruginosa sublineage

FIM-1 is an acquired metallo-beta-lactamase identified in a multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (index strain FI-14/157) of clinical origin isolated in 2007 in Florence, Italy. Here we report on a second case of infection by FIM-1-positive P. aeruginosa (FI-17645), which occurred in 2020 in the same hospital. Both FIM-1-positive strains exhibited resistance to all anti-Pseudomonas antibiotics except colistin and cefiderocol. Comparative genomic characterization revealed that the two FIM-positive strains were closely related [core genome difference, 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)], suggesting a local circulation of similar strains. In the FI-14/157 index strain, the bla(FIM-1) gene was associated with an ISCR19-like element that likely contributed to its capture downstream an integron platform inserted aboard a Tn21-like transposon, named Tn7703.1, which was associated with a large integrative and conjugative element (ICE) named ICE7705.1, integrated into an att site located within the 3 '-end of tRNA(Gly) CCC gene of the P. aeruginosa chromosome. In strain FI-17645, bla(FIM-1) was associated with a closely related ICE, named ICE7705.2, integrated in the same chromosomal site. Similar ICE platforms, lacking the bla(FIM-1)-containing region, were detected in other ST235 P. aeruginosa strains from different geographic areas, suggesting a common ancestry and underscoring the role of these elements in the dissemination of resistance genes in P. aeruginosa. Sequence database mining revealed two draft P. aeruginosa genomes, one from Italy and one from the USA (both isolated in 2012), including a contig with bla(FIM-1), suggesting that this resistance gene could have a broader distribution than originally anticipated.