Objectives: The multiresistance plasmid pKP96 from Klebsiella pneumoniae was sequenced completely and analysed concerning its genetic environment and distributing of antimicrobial resistance genes.
Methods: The complete sequence of the plasmid was determined using a whole-genome shotgun approach. MICs of 13 antimicrobial agents were determined using Etests. A conjugation experiment was performed in liquid medium.
Results: pKP96 is a circularly closed 67 850 bp multiresistance plasmid with an IncN incompatibility group. Seventy putative genes were identified according to the annotation of the finished sequence. The backbone region of the plasmid, comprising the conjugal transfer and plasmid replication regions, showed 91% identity to the IncN plasmid R46. Several mobile elements were found to be inserted into pKP96 together with antimicrobial resistance genes, including qnrA1, aac(6')-Ib-cr and bla(CTX-M-24).
Conclusions: Plasmid pKP96 is a chimera that has acquired its multiple antimicrobial resistance determinants horizontally from different sources. It may have evolved from an ancestor plasmid similar to R46 through the stepwise events of integration or recombination.