Genetic characterization of a blaVEB-2-carrying plasmid in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Abstract

This report describes the first detection of a blaVEB-2 gene in a Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain isolated from a shrimp sample. The blaVEB-2 gene was carried on a novel Inc-type plasmid that was likely to have originated from aquatic organisms, as indicated by a comparison with other known genetic elements in the GenBank database. However, the plasmid contains resistance elements usually harbored by members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, suggesting that gene transfer events occurred and contributed to the formation of this multidrug resistance-encoding plasmid.