Plasmid

Acinetobacter

Antibiotics

Bacteria

Escherichia coli

Biology

Microbiology

Gene

Mobile genetic elements

Genome

Acinetobacter baumannii

Klebsiella pneumoniae

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Enterococcus faecium

Staphylococcus aureus

Enterococcus

Horizontal gene transfer

Transposable element

Antimicrobial

Genetics

Antibiotic resistance

Clinical Microbiology Reviews

Strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, particularly those that are multiresistant, are an increasing major health care problem around the world. It is now abundantly clear that both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria are able to meet the evolutionary challenge of combating antimicrobial chemotherapy, often by acquiring preexisting resistance determinants from the bacterial gene pool. This is achieved through the concerted activities of mobile genetic elements able to move within or between DNA molecules, which include insertion sequences, transposons, and gene cassettes/integrons, and those that are able to transfer between bacterial cells, such as plasmids and integrative conjugative elements. Together these elements play a central role in facilitating horizontal genetic exchange and therefore promote the acquisition and spread of resistance genes. This review aims to outline the characteristics of the major types of mobile genetic elements involved in acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, focusing on the so-called ESKAPEE group of organisms (

Mobile Genetic Elements Associated with Antimicrobial Resistance