ESBL-plasmid carriage in E. coli enhances in vitro bacterial competition fitness and serum resistance in some strains of pandemic sequence types without overall fitness cost

ConclusionsOverall, we found no compelling evidence for an increased burden resulting from the carriage of ESBL-plasmids in the absence of antimicrobial selection pressure in the strains of pandemic ST131 and ST648; rather, the possession of certain ESBL-plasmids was beneficial for some strains in regarding competition fitness and serum survival.
Source: Gut Pathogens - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research