Diversity of antibiotic-resistance genes in Canadian isolates of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida: dominance of pSN254b and discovery of pAsa8

The bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida is a common pathogen in fish farms worldwide. Since the antibiotic resistance of this bacterial species is on the increase, it is important to have a broader view on this issue. In the present study, we tested the presence of known plasmids conferring multi-drug resistance as well as antibiotic resistance genes by a PCR approach in 100 Canadian A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida isolates. Our study highlighted the dominance of the conjugative pSN254b plasmid, which confers multi-drug resistance. We also identified a new multi-drug plasmid named pAsa8, which has been characterized by a combination of sequencing technologies (Illumina and Oxford nanopore). This new plasmid harbors a complex class 1 integron similar to the one of the Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) found in Salmonella enterica and Proteus mirabilis. Consequently, in addition to providing an update on the A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida isolates that are resistant to antibiotics, our data suggest that this bacterium is potentially an important reservoir of drug resistance genes and should consequently be monitored more extensively. In addition, we describe a screening method that has the potential to become a diagnostic tool that is complementary to other methods currently in use.