Isabelle Casin

Multidrug-Resistant Human and Animal Salmonella typhimuvium Isolates in France Belong Predominantly to a DT104 Clone with the Chromosome- and Integron-Encoded β-Lactamase PSE-1

Epidemiologic relationships were investigated in 187 ampicillin-resistant Salmonella typhimurium strains (86 human, 101 animal) from >2000 strains isolated in 1994. Of 23 resistance patterns, the most frequent (ampicillin [Am], chloramphenicol [Cm], tetracycline [Tc], streptomycin and spectinomycin [Sm], and sulfonamides [Su]) was found in 69.5% of human and 64.8% of animal isolates. Four beta-lactamase genes were identified, blaTEM (24%), blaPSE-1 (78%), and blaSHV and oxa-2 (each <3%). blaPSE-1 and the integrase gene, intI1, but not blaTEM, blaSHV or oxa-2, were chromosomeborne and found almost exclusively in the AmCmTcSmSu strains. In these, polymerase chain reaction mapping revealed two distinct integrons carrying blaPSE-1 or aadA2. Lysotypes, plasmid profiles, and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (IS200) were determined for 50 representative isolates and for 3 DT104 strains from the United Kingdom (UK). The phage type of the PSE-1-producing AmCmTcSmSu strains was 12 atypic, indistinguishable from that of the DT104 strains. The combined data indicate that the same multiresistant clone has spread through human and animal ecosystems in the UK and France.

Fluoroquinolone resistance linked to GyrA, GyrB, and ParC mutations in Salmonella enterica typhimurium isolates in humans.

We report two cases of infection with clonally unrelated, high-level ciprofloxacin-resistant, β-lactamase–producing strains of Salmonella enterica Typhimurium. Resistance was caused by four topoisomerase mutations, in GyrA, GyrB, and ParC and increased drug efflux. Ciprofloxacin treatment failed in one case. In the second case, reduced susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins occurred after initial treatment with these drugs and may explain the treatment failure with ceftriaxone.

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium blaPER-1-Carrying Plasmid pSTI1 Encodes an Extended-Spectrum Aminoglycoside 6′-N-Acetyltransferase of Type Ib

ABSTRACT We have studied the aminoglycoside resistance gene, which confers high levels of resistance to both amikacin and gentamicin, that is carried by plasmid pSTI1 in the PER-1 β-lactamase-producing strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium previously isolated in Turkey. This gene, called aac(6′)-Ib11, was found in a class 1 integron and codes for a protein of 188 amino acids, a fusion product between the N-terminal moiety (8 amino acids) of the signal peptide of the β-lactamase OXA-1 and the acetyltransferase. The gene lacked a plausible Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence and was located 45 nucleotides downstream from a small open reading frame, ORF-18, with a coding capacity of 18 amino acids and a properly spaced SD sequence likely to direct the initiation of aac(6′)-Ib11 translation. AAC(6′)-Ib11 had Leu118 and Ser119 as opposed to Gln and Leu or Gln and Ser, respectively, which were observed in all previously described enzymes of this type. We have evaluated the effect of Leu or Gln at position 118 by site-directed mutagenesis of aac(6′)-Ib11 and two other acetyltransferase gene variants, aac(6′)-Ib7 and -Ib8, which naturally encode Gln118. Our results show that the combination of Leu118 and Ser119 confers an extended-spectrum aminoglycoside resistance, with the MICs of all aminoglycosides in clinical use, including gentamicin, being two to eight times higher for strains with Leu118 and Ser119 than for those with Gln118 and Ser119.

An intrinsic control element for translational initiation in class 1 integrons

Integrons are genetic elements able to capture anti‐biotic resistance and other genes and to promote their transcription. Here, we have investigated integron‐dependent translation of an aminoglycoside 6′‐N‐acetyltransferase gene (aac(6′)‐Ib7) inserted at the attI1 site. N‐terminal sequencing revealed that translation of this gene was initiated at a GTG codon, which is not part of a plausible translation initiation region (TIR). A short open reading frame (called ORF‐11) overlapping the attI1 site was probed by site‐directed mutagenesis for its contribution to aac(6′)‐Ib7 translation. When ORF‐11 and its TIR were deleted en bloc, translational efficiency dropped by over 80%, as determined with an acetyltransferase– luciferase fusion product. Invalidation of the ATG start codon of ORF‐11 or its putative Shine–Dalgarno sequence resulted in a decrease of over 60%, whereas the decrease was much less pronounced when the amino acid sequence of the putative ORF‐11‐encoded peptide was altered or when the distance between ORF‐11 and aac(6′)‐Ib7 was doubled. This demonstrates that aac(6′)‐Ib7 translation is dependent upon the translation of ORF‐11, but almost certainly not upon the corresponding peptide. These results lead us to conclude that an intrinsic short ORF present in the 5′‐conserved segment of many class 1 integrons may substantially enhance expression at the translational level of captured TIR‐deficient anti‐biotic resistance genes.

Novel class A beta-lactamase Sed-1 from Citrobacter sedlakii: genetic diversity of beta-lactamases within the Citrobacter genus.

ABSTRACT Citrobacter sedlakii 2596, a clinical strain resistant to aminopenicillins, carboxypenicillins, and early cephalosporins such as cephalothin, but remaining susceptible to acylureidopenicillins, carbapenems, and later cephalosporins such as cefotaxime, was isolated from the bile of a patient treated with β-lactam and quinolone antibiotics. The isolate produced an inducible class A β-lactamase of pI 8.6, named Sed-1, which was purified. Characterized by a molecular mass of 30 kDa, Sed-1 preferentially hydrolyzed benzylpenicillin, cephalothin, and cloxacillin. The corresponding gene,blaSed-1, was cloned and sequenced. Its deduced amino acid sequence shared more than 60% identity with the chromosome-encoded β-lactamases from Citrobacter koseri(formerly C. diversus) (84%), Klebsiella oxytoca (74%), Serratia fonticola (67%), andProteus vulgaris (63%) and 71% identity with the plasmid-mediated enzyme MEN-1. A gene coding for a LysR transcriptional regulator was found upstream from blaSed-1. This regulator, named SedR, displayed 90% identity with the AmpR sequence of the chromosomal β-lactamase from C. koseriand 63 and 50% identity with the AmpR sequences of P. vulgaris and Enterobacter cloacae, respectively. By using DNA-DNA hybridization, a blaSed-1-like gene was identified in two reference strains, C. sedlakii(CIP-105037) and Citrobacter rodentium (CIP-104675), but not in the 18 strains of C. koseri studied. Two DNA fragments were amplified and sequenced from the reference strains ofC. sedlakii CIP-105037 and C. rodentiumCIP-104675 using two primers specific forblaSed-1. They shared 98 and 80% identity withblaSed-1, respectively, confirming the diversity of the chromosomally encoded class A β-lactamases found inCitrobacter.

Multiple-Antibiotic Resistance in Salmonella enterica Serotype Paratyphi B Isolates Collected in France between 2000 and 2003 Is Due Mainly to Strains Harboring Salmonella Genomic Islands 1, 1-B, and 1-C

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of multiple-antibiotic resistance among 261 clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B strains collected between 2000 and 2003 through the network of the French National Reference Center for Salmonella. The 47 multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates identified (18%), were characterized on the basis of the presence of several resistance genes (blaTEM, blaPSE-1, blaCTX-M, floR, aadA2, qacEΔ1, and sul1), the presence of Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) by PCR mapping and hybridization, and the clonality of these isolates by several molecular (ribotyping, IS200 profiling, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE]) and phage typing methods. The results of PCR and Southern blot experiments indicated that 39 (83%) of the 47 S. enterica serotype Paratyphi B biotype Java MDR isolates possessed the SGI1 cluster (MDR/SGI1). Among these 39 MDR/SGI1 isolates, only 3 contained variations in SGI1, SGI1-B (n = 1) and SGI1-C (n = 2). The 39 MDR/SGI1 isolates showed the same specific PstI-IS200 profile 1, which contained seven copies from 2.6 to 18 kb. Two PstI ribotypes were found in MDR/SGI1 isolates, RP1 (n = 38) and RP6 (n = 1). Ribotype RP1 was also found in two susceptible strains. Analysis by PFGE using XbaI revealed that all the MDR/SGI1 isolates were grouped in two related clusters, with a similarity percentage of 82%. Isolation of MDR/SGI1 isolates in France was observed mainly between the second quarter of 2001 and the end of 2002. The source of the contamination has not been identified to date. A single isolate possessing the extended-spectrum β-lactamase blaCTX-M-15 gene was also identified during the study.

Deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness between Haemophilus aegyptius and Haemophilus influenzas

Haemophilus aegyptius should be considered a junior subjective synonym of Haemophilus influenzae. Both nomenspecies are indistinguishable by DNA/DNA hybridization (S1 nuclease method). No single phenotypic test can unambigously separate H. aegyptius from the other biotypes of H. influenzae.

Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of the Natural Chromosome-Encoded Class A β-Lactamase from Pseudomonas luteola

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas luteola (formerly classified as CDC group Ve-1 and named Chryseomonas luteola) is an unusual pathogen implicated in rare but serious infections in humans. A novel β-lactamase gene, blaLUT-1, was cloned from the whole-cell DNA of the P. luteola clinical isolate LAM, which had a weak narrow-spectrum β-lactam-resistant phenotype, and expressed in Escherichia coli. This gene encoded LUT-1, a 296-amino-acid Ambler class A β-lactamase with a pI of 6 and a theoretical molecular mass of 28.9 kDa. The catalytic efficiency of this enzyme was higher for cephalothin, cefuroxime, and cefotaxime than for penicillins. It was found to be 49% to 59% identical to other Ambler class A β-lactamases from Burkholderia sp. (PenA to PenL), Ralstonia eutropha (REUT), Citrobacter sedlakii (SED-1), Serratia fonticola (FONA and SFC-1), Klebsiella sp. (KPC and OXY), and CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamases. No gene homologous to the regulatory ampR genes of class A β-lactamases was found in the vicinity of the blaLUT-1 gene. The entire blaLUT-1 coding region was amplified by PCR and sequenced in five other genetically unrelated P. luteola strains (including the P. luteola type strain). A new variant of blaLUT-1 was found for each strain. These genes (named blaLUT-2 to blaLUT-6) had nucleotide sequences 98.1 to 99.5% identical to that of blaLUT-1 and differing from this gene by two to four nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms. The blaLUT gene was located on a 700- to 800-kb chromosomal I-CeuI fragment, the precise size of this fragment depending on the P. luteola strain.