Clearance mechanisms of bacterial multidrug resistance gene IMP-4 and KPC-2 by CRISPR/Cas9 system
OBJECTIVE To restore the bactericidal efficacy of antimicrobial drugs by removing the multi-drug re-sistance genes IMP-4 and KPC-2 using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.METHODS The CRISPR/Cas9 plasmid was constructed using molecular cloning method.The competent cells of drug-resistant bacteria were prepared,and the CRISPR/Cas9 system was delivered to the drug-resistant bacteria by plasmid transformation.Bacterial colony pol-ymerase chain reaction(PCR)was used to detect the presence of drug resistance genes.The clearance efficiency of each CR1SPR/Cas9 target for drug resistance genes was determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR).Drug sensitive phenotypes of bacteria were determined by Sensititre drug sensitive plate and E-test drug sensitive strip.RESULTS The CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids carrying the target spacer was constructed for IMP-4 and KPC-2.The results of colony counting showed that the drug-resistant genes were eradicated by CRISPR/Cas9 system,and the clearance rate was 100.00%(5/5).The relative quantitative analysis of bacterial drug resistance genes showed that the clearance efficiency of each target site reached 99.9%within 24 hours.Drug sensitivity test results showed that the bacteria in the experimental group restored their sensitivity to antibiotics,while the bacte-ria in the control group remained resistant to antibiotics.In the E-test strip experiment,the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)of piperacillin in the experimental group was reduced by about 204.8 times compared with the control group(P<0.05),which restored the bacterial susceptibility to the antimicrobial drug.The CRISPR/Cas9 system was able to block bacterial acquisition of drug-resistant plasmids through the transformation path-way,and the efficiency of blockage was as high as 99.9%(P<0.05).CONCLUSION The rapid removal of bacte-rial drug-resistant genes IMP-4 and KPC-2 to restore the bacterial efficacy of antimicrobial drugs using the CRISPR/Cas9 system demonstrated great clinical application value.
CRISPR/Cas9Drug resistance of bacteriaMultidrug resistance geneClearance of resistance