Escherichia coli carrying blaNDM-1 obtained from a migratory penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) in the Brazilian seacoast.

The reservoirs for NDM-producing Enterobacterales are increasing, not only in hospitals, but also in the environment and in the community, challenging the therapeutic efficacy of carbapenems. We aimed to characterize an isolate of Escherichia coli harboring the blaNDM-1 gene recovered from the bloodstream of a penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) in Southern Brazil. A total of 74 bacterial isolates recovered from arterial blood samples from dead birds were submitted to species identification and antibiotic susceptibility evaluation. One isolate presented resistance to carbapenems (E. coli 89PenNDM) and proved to harbor the blaNDM-1 gene by multiplex high-resolution melting real-time PCR (PCR-HRM). Conjugation experiments indicated that the blaNDM-1 was transmissible to E. coli J53. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) confirmed the presence of the blaNDM-1 gene in a conjugative plasmid (IncA/C2 plasmid) in both the E. coli 89PenNDM and its transconjugants. The isolate was classified as ST 156 and many other resistance genes (e.g., sul1, sul,2, strA, floR, tet(A)) were identified, all carried in the same IncA/C2 plasmid. This is the first report of blaNDM-1-producing E. coli isolated from a penguin in the Brazilian seacoast. The presence of a carbapenemase gene in wildlife animals is of concern as they may become reservoirs of multidrug-resistant bacteria and disseminate them to the environment.