Investigation of Delafloxacin Resistance in Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Strains and the Detection of E. coli ST43 International High-Risk Clone.

Delafloxacin is a novel fluoroquinolone agent that is approved for clinical application. In this study, we analyzed the antibacterial efficacy of delafloxacin in a collection of 47 strains. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the broth microdilution method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined for delafloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and imipenem. Two multidrug-resistant strains, which exhibited delafloxacin and ciprofloxacin resistance as well as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype, were selected for whole-genome sequencing (WGS). In our study, delafloxacin and ciprofloxacin resistance rates were 47% (22/47) and 51% (24/47), respectively. In the strain collection, 46 were associated with ESBL production. The MIC50 value for delafloxacin was 0.125 mg/L, while all other fluoroquinolones had an MIC50 value of 0.25 mg/L in our collection. Delafloxacin susceptibility was detected in 20 ESBL positive and ciprofloxacin resistant strains; by contrast, strains that exhibited a ciprofloxacin MIC value above 1 mg/L were delafloxacin-resistant. WGS analysis on the two selected strains (920/1 and 951/2) demonstrated that delafloxacin resistance is mediated by multiple chromosomal mutations, namely, five mutations in 920/1 ( S83L, D87N, S80I, E84V, and I529L) and four mutations in 951/2 ( S83L, D87N, S80I, and E84V). Both strains carried an ESBL gene, in 920/1 and in 951/2. Based on multilocus sequence typing, both strains belong to the sequence type 43 (ST43). In this paper, we report a remarkable high rate (47%) of delafloxacin resistance among multidrug-resistant as well as the ST43 international high-risk clone in Hungary.