Dataset Information

Plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA methylase in Serratia marcescens conferring high-level resistance to aminoglycosides.

ABSTRACT: Serratia marcescens S-95, which displayed an unusually high degree of resistance to aminoglycosides, including kanamycins and gentamicins, was isolated in 2002 from a patient in Japan. The resistance was mediated by a large plasmid which was nonconjugative but transferable to an Escherichia coli recipient by transformation. The gene responsible for the aminoglycoside resistance was cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of the resistance gene shared 82% identity with RmtA, which was recently identified as 16S rRNA methylase conferring high-level aminoglycoside resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Histidine-tagged recombinant protein showed methylation activity against E. coli 16S rRNA. The novel aminoglycoside resistance gene was therefore designated rmtB. The genetic environment of rmtB was further investigated. The sequence immediately upstream of rmtB contained the right end of transposon Tn3, including bla(TEM), while an open reading frame possibly encoding a transposase was identified downstream of the gene. This is the first report describing 16S rRNA methylase production in S. marcescens. The aminoglycoside resistance mechanism mediated by production of 16S rRNA methylase and subsequent ribosomal protection used to be confined to aminoglycoside-producing actinomycetes. However, it is now identified among pathogenic bacteria, including Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa in Japan. This is a cause for concern since other treatment options are often limited in patients requiring highly potent aminoglycosides such as amikacin and tobramycin.

SUBMITTER: Doi Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC321553 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA methylase in Serratia marcescens conferring high-level resistance to aminoglycosides.

Doi Yohei Y Yokoyama Keiko K Yamane Kunikazu K Wachino Jun-Ichi J Shibata Naohiro N Yagi Tetsuya T Shibayama Keigo K Kato Haru H Arakawa Yoshichika Y

Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 20040201 2

Serratia marcescens S-95, which displayed an unusually high degree of resistance to aminoglycosides, including kanamycins and gentamicins, was isolated in 2002 from a patient in Japan. The resistance was mediated by a large plasmid which was nonconjugative but transferable to an Escherichia coli recipient by transformation. The gene responsible for the aminoglycoside resistance was cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of the resistance gene shared 82% identity with RmtA, which w ...[more]

PMID: 14742200

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundRecently, production of 16S rRNA methylases by Gram-negative bacilli has emerged as a novel mechanism for high-level resistance to aminoglycosides by these organisms in a variety of geographic locations. Therefore, the spread of high-level aminoglycoside resistance determinants has become a great concern.MethodsBetween January 2006 and July 2008, 680 distinct Escherichia coli clinical isolates were collected from a teaching hospital in Wenzhou, China. PCR and DNA sequencing were used to identify 16S rRNA methylase and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes, including armA and rmtB, and in situ hybridization was performed to determine the location of 16S rRNA methylase genes. Conjugation experiments were subsequently performed to determine whether aminoglycoside resistance was transferable from the E. coli isolates via 16S rRNA methylase-bearing plasmids. Homology of the isolates harboring 16S rRNA methylase genes was determined using pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).ResultsAmong the 680 E. coli isolates, 357 (52.5%), 346 (50.9%) and 44 (6.5%) isolates were resistant to gentamicin, tobramycin and amikacin, respectively. Thirty-seven of 44 amikacin-resistant isolates harbored 16S rRNA methylase genes, with 36 of 37 harboring the rmtB gene and only one harboring armA. The positive rates of 16S rRNA methylase genes among all isolates and amikacin-resistant isolates were 5.4% (37/680) and 84.1% (37/44), respectively. Thirty-one isolates harboring 16S rRNA methylase genes also produced ESBLs. In addition, high-level aminoglycoside resistance could be transferred by conjugation from four rmtB-positive donors. The plasmids of incompatibility groups IncF, IncK and IncN were detected in 34, 3 and 3 isolates, respectively. Upstream regions of the armA gene contained ISCR1 and tnpU, the latter a putative transposase gene,. Another putative transposase gene, tnpD, was located within a region downstream of armA. Moreover, a transposon, Tn3, was located upstream of the rmtB. Nineteen clonal patterns were obtained by PFGE, with type H representing the prevailing pattern.ConclusionA high prevalence of plasmid-mediated rmtB gene was found among clinical E. coli isolates from a Chinese teaching hospital. Both horizontal gene transfer and clonal spread were responsible for the dissemination of the rmtB gene.

Dataset Information

Plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA methylase in Serratia marcescens conferring high-level resistance to aminoglycosides.

Publications

Plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA methylase in Serratia marcescens conferring high-level resistance to aminoglycosides.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets