Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST1859 O5:KL35 from Soil: First Report of qnrE1 in the Environment

A subsp. strain, named S915, belonging to the ST1859 O5:KL35, and harboring the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene, was isolated from a soil sample cultivated with lettuce in Brazil. The core genome multilocus sequence typing analysis revealed that S915 strain was most related to a clinical strain of Brazil. Comparative genomic analysis showed that ST1859 O5:KL35 strains have been circulating in clinical settings and are closely related to multidrug resistance and multimetal tolerance. Strain S915 presented a plasmid contig co-harboring the gene and tellurite tolerance operon. The region harboring the gene (IS - - - ) shared high similarity with others from infected humans, ready-to-eat dish, and food-producing animals in Brazil. This is the first report of the plasmid-mediated gene in the environment. Our findings evidence the initial dissemination of the gene in the environment by the introduction of a clinical strain, which may be spread to different sectors, representing a One Health challenge.