Class 1 integrons mediate antibiotic resistance in the fish pathogen Aeromonas salmonicida worldwide.

The presence of class 1 integrons was investigated in 38 sulfonamide-resistant strains of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, atypical A. salmonicida and Escherichia coli conjugants with R plasmids originating from A. salmonicida. The strains originated from Finland, France, Japan, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States. Additional resistance determinants in strains with class 1 integrons were also determined. Of 21 strains containing a class 1 integron, 19 had a single gene cassette, 1 strain had two cassettes, and 1 strain was found to lack an integrated gene cassette. In the integrons with single cassettes, aadA2 was present in eight strains, dfr16 in five strains, and aadA1 and dfrIIc in three strains each. In the integron with two cassettes, qacG and orfD were present. Tetracycline resistance was observed in 20 of the integron-positive strains, caused by the determinants Tet A and Tet E, in which Tet A frequently was associated with Tn1721. Class 1 integrons seem to be important in mediating antibiotic resistance also in the marine environment. The gene cassettes reported in this study are all described in bacteria associated with humans, and this demonstrates once more how the common gene pool is shared between organisms belonging to different environments.