Identification of a Novel Plasmid-Mediated Carbapenemase-Encoding Gene, blaVMB-2, in Vibrio diabolicus.

Here, we characterized a carbapenem-resistant Vibrio diabolicus strain of shrimp origin with various experiments and bioinformatics analysis. A novel metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) gene, blaVMB-2, that confers resistance to β-lactams, including meropenem and cephalosporins, was identified on a plasmid-borne composite transposon, ISShfr9-ISCR1-blaVMB-2-blaCARB-12-aadA1-ISShfr9, which is capable of generating a blaVMB-2-bearing circular intermediate. ISShfr9 was found to be disseminated in multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, arousing the concern of further transmission of a blaVMB-2-bearing circular intermediate to clinical Enterobacterales strains via such insertion sequences, which warrants further investigations.