Comparative genomic analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains susceptible and resistant to carbapenems and aztreonam isolated from patients with healthcare-associated infections in a Mexican hospital

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is an important opportunistic pathogen that causes different infections on immunocompromised patients. Within PA accessory genome, differences in virulence, antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation have been described between strains, leading to the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains. The genome sequences of 17 strains isolated from patients with healthcare-associated infections in a Mexican hospital were genomically and phylogenetically analyzed and antibiotic resistance genes, virulence genes, and biofilm formation genes were detected. Fifteen of the 17 strains were resistant to at least two of the carbapenems meropenem, imipenem, and the monobactam aztreonam. The antibiotic resistance (mexA, mexB, and oprM) and the biofilm formation (pslA and pslD) genes were detected in all strains. Differences were found between strains in accessory genome size. The strains had different sequence types, and seven strains had sequence types associated with global high risk epidemic PA clones. All strains were represented in two groups among PA global strains. In the 17 strains, horizontally acquired resistance genes to aminoglycosides and beta-lactams were found, mainly, and between 230 and 240 genes that encode virulence factors. The strains under study were variable in terms of their accessory genome, antibiotic resistance, and virulence genes. With these characteristics, we provide information about the genomic diversity of clinically relevant PA strains.