Dataset Information

Identification of the conjugative mef gene in clinical Acinetobacter junii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates.

ABSTRACT: The mef gene, originally described for gram-positive organisms and coding for an efflux pump, has been identified in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter junii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These strains could transfer the mef gene at frequencies ranging from 10(-6) to 10(-9) into one or more of the following recipients: gram-negative Moraxella catarrhalis, Neisseria perflava/sicca and Neisseria mucosa and gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis. Three Streptococcus pneumoniae strains could transfer the mef gene into Eikenella corrodens, Haemophilus influenzae, Kingella denitrificans, M. catarrhalis, Neisseria meningitidis, N. perflava/sicca, and N. mucosa at similar frequencies. The mef gene can thus be transferred to and expressed in a variety of gram-negative recipients.

SUBMITTER: Luna VA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC90092 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identification of the conjugative mef gene in clinical Acinetobacter junii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates.

Luna V A VA Cousin S S Whittington W L WL Roberts M C MC

Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 20000901 9

The mef gene, originally described for gram-positive organisms and coding for an efflux pump, has been identified in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter junii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These strains could transfer the mef gene at frequencies ranging from 10(-6) to 10(-9) into one or more of the following recipients: gram-negative Moraxella catarrhalis, Neisseria perflava/sicca and Neisseria mucosa and gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis. Three Streptococcus pneumoniae strains could transfer the ...[more]

PMID: 10952602

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Project description:Many clinical isolates of the human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae contain conjugative plasmids. The host range of these plasmids is limited to Neisseria species, but presence of a tetracycline (tetM) determinant inserted in several of these plasmids is an important cause of the rapid spread of tetracycline resistance. Previously plasmids with different backbones (Dutch and American type backbones) and with and without different tetM determinants (Dutch and American type tetM determinants) have been identified. Within the isolates tested, all plasmids with American or Dutch type tetM determinants contained a Dutch type plasmid backbone. This demonstrated that tetM determinants should not be used to differentiate between conjugal plasmid backbones. The nucleotide sequences of conjugative plasmids with Dutch type plasmid backbones either not containing the tetM determinant (pEP5233) or containing Dutch (pEP5289) or American (pEP5050) type tetM determinants were determined. Analysis of the backbone sequences showed that they belong to a novel IncP1 subfamily divergent from the IncP1alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon subfamilies. The tetM determinants were inserted in a genetic load region found in all these plasmids. Insertion was accompanied by the insertion of a gene with an unknown function, and rearrangement of a toxin/antitoxin gene cluster. The genetic load region contains two toxin/antitoxins of the Zeta/Epsilon toxin/antitoxin family previously only found in Gram positive organisms and the virulence associated protein D of the VapD/VapX toxin/antitoxin family. Remarkably, presence of VapX of pJD1, a small cryptic neisserial plasmid, in the acceptor strain strongly increased the conjugation efficiency, suggesting that it functions as an antitoxin for the conjugative plasmid. The presence of the toxin and antitoxin on different plasmids might explain why the host range of this IncP1 plasmid is limited to Neisseria species. The isolated plasmids conjugated efficiently between N. gonorrhoeae strains, but did not enhance transfer of a genetic marker.

Dataset Information

Identification of the conjugative mef gene in clinical Acinetobacter junii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates.

Publications

Identification of the conjugative mef gene in clinical Acinetobacter junii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates.

Similar Datasets

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