To investigate the presence and location of erm(T) in clinical Streptococcus suis isolates and explore the transmission ability and fitness cost of erm(T)-carrying mobile genetic elements among S. suis isolates, MICs were determined by broth microdilution. The presence of erm(T) in S. suis was detected by PCR. The genetic environment of erm(T) in S. suis was explored by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis. Intraspecies and interspecies transmission were examined by electrotransformation. The fitness cost associated with the carriage of an erm(T)-harboring plasmid or an integrative and conjugative element (ICE) was examined by competition experiments. Of 237 nonduplicate strains, erm(T) was detected in 2 S. suis strains (SC262-ST954 and SC117-ST1314), with its location on a 5,125-bp plasmid in S. suis SC262 and on a 64,013-bp ICESsuSC117 in S. suis SC117, respectively. Both the erm(T)-carrying plasmid pSC262 and the ICESsuSC117 were transmissible by transformation. Plasmid pSC262 can replicate and express macrolide-lincosamide resistance in heterologous hosts, including S. aureus and S. pneumoniae. Both the erm(T)-carrying plasmid and the ICE posed a fitness cost to the host S. suis isolate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance gene erm(T) in S. suis. Its location on a plasmid or an ICE will aid in its transmission. The low detection rate of erm(T) gene among the S. suis population might be due to the fitness cost of the erm(T)-carrying plasmid and ICE. IMPORTANCE Macrolide and lincosamide resistance due to the presence of erm(T) have posed a challenge for the treatment of Gram-positive pathogens. Although the low detection rate of erm(T) gene among the S. suis population due to the fitness cost of the erm(T)-carrying plasmid and ICE, the presence of erm(T) in S. suis and its potential transmission to other Gram-positive pathogens will be of important significance.
Keywords: Streptococcus suis; erm(T); fitness cost; lincosamide; macrolide; resistance.