Integron Mobilization Unit as a Source of Mobility of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Antibiotic resistance genes are spread mostly through plasmids, integrons (as a form of gene cassettes), and transposons in gram-negative bacteria. We describe here a novel genetic structure, named the integron mobilization unit (IMU), that has characteristics similar to those of miniature inverted transposable elements (MITEs). Two IMUs (288 bp each) were identified from a carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae isolate that formed a composite structure encompassing a defective class 1 integron containing the carbapenem resistance gene bla(GES-5). This beta-lactamase gene was located on a 7-kb IncQ-type plasmid named pCHE-A, which was sequenced completely. The plasmid pCHE-A was not self conjugative but was mobilizable, and it was successfully transferred from E. cloacae to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The in silico analysis of the extremities of the IMU elements identified similarities with those of insertion sequence ISSod9 from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The mobilization of the IMU composite structure was accomplished by using the transposase activity of ISSod9 that was provided in trans. This is the first identification of MITE-type structures as a source of gene mobilization, implicating here a clinically relevant antibiotic resistance gene.