Polymyxin acts as an ultimate line of refuge
against the severe infections by multidrug-resistant Gram-
negative pathogens. This conventional idea is challenged
dramatically by the recent discovery of mobile colistin
resistance gene (mcr-1) is prevalent in food animals and
human beings worldwide. More importantly, the mcr-1
gene was found to be co-localized with other antibiotic
resistance genes, raising the possibility that super-bugs
with pan-drug resistance are emerging. However, little is
reported on the genomes of the mcr-1-positive bacterial
host reservoirs. Here we report genome sequencing of three
human isolates of the mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli
(E15004, E15015 and E15017) and define general features
through analyses of bacterial comparative genomics. Fur-
ther genomic mining together with sequence typing
allowed us to elucidate that the MCR-1-carrying E. coli
E15017 belongs to the sequence type ST648 and copro-
duces extended-spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL). Given the

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• Genomic insights into the ESBL and MCR-1-producing ST648 Escherichia coli with multi-drug resistance