{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T19:14:44Z","timestamp":1792696484565,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"\n Objective<\/jats:title>\n \n This study aimed to compare the virulence characteristics and antimicrobial resistance gene profiles of extended-spectrum \u03b2-lactamase-producing\n Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n (ESBL-EC) and carbapenem-resistant\n Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n (CR-EC), and to explore the potential effects of these traits on the evolutionary dynamics of\n Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n and the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in Ningbo.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n A total of 112\n E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n isolates obtained from The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University between January 2021 and December 2023 were included, comprising 72 ESBLs-EC isolates and 40 CR-EC isolates. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed with the VITEK-2 Compact system, and all susceptibility results were verified by the Kirby\u2013Bauer disk diffusion method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to detect virulence genes and resistance genes. Clonal lineage analysis of the 112\n E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n isolates was performed with GrapeTree software.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Among the 112\n E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n isolates subjected to sequence type (ST) analysis, ST131 was the most common ST among ESBLs-EC isolates, whereas ST410 accounted for the largest proportion among CR-EC isolates. PCR-based screening of resistance genes showed that\n bla<\/jats:italic>\n \n CTX\u2013M<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n was the predominant \u03b2-lactam resistance gene carried by ESBLs-EC isolates (93.06%, 67\/72), whereas\n bla<\/jats:italic>\n \n TEM<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n was predominant in CR-EC isolates (52.50%, 21\/40), with a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &lt; 0.05). No carbapenemase resistance genes were detected in ESBLs-EC isolates, whereas\n bla<\/jats:italic>\n \n NDM<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n and\n bla<\/jats:italic>\n \n KPC<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n were detected in 62.50% (25\/40) and 7.50% (3\/40) of CR-EC isolates, respectively, with significant differences between the 2 groups (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &lt; 0.05). PCR-based virulence gene typing showed that, after Bonferroni correction, the carriage proportions of the iron acquisition system genes\n fyuA<\/jats:italic>\n (72.22% vs. 40.00%) and\n iutA<\/jats:italic>\n (69.44% vs. 37.50%) and the PAI (40.28% vs. 0%) were significantly higher in ESBLs-EC isolates than in CR-EC isolates, with all corrected\n P<\/jats:italic>\n values &lt; 0.05.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n \n At present,\n E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n isolates circulating in Ningbo are mainly represented by\n bla<\/jats:italic>\n \n CTX\u2013M<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n -type ESBLs-EC and\n bla<\/jats:italic>\n \n NDM<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:sub>\n -type CR-EC, showing an evolutionary trend characterized by high resistance and low virulence.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1843914","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T06:10:54Z","timestamp":1784095854000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparative analysis of virulence and resistance gene profiles between carbapenem-resistant and ESBL-producing Escherichia coli"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Dandan","family":"Lou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Linhui","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo","place":["Zhejiang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanzi","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xudong","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hong","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanye","family":"Tu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University","place":["Ningbo, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1556\/030.2025.02710","article-title":"Investigations of Escherichia coli ST131 and H30Rx subclone from clinical samples.","volume":"72","author":"Aydin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Acta Microbiol. 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