Evolutionary relationships of the Bacillus licheniformis macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance elements

Effect of subtherapeutic vs. therapeutic administration of macrolides on antimicrobial resistance in Mannheimia haemolytica and enterococci isolated from beef cattle

Macrolides are the first-line treatment against bovine respiratory disease (BRD), and are also used to treat infections in humans. The macrolide, tylosin phosphate, is often included in the diet of cattle as a preventative for liver abscesses in many regions of the world outside of Europe. This study investigated the effects of administering macrolides to beef cattle either systemically through a single subcutaneous injection (therapeutic) or continuously in-feed (subtherapeutic), on the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Mannheimia haemolytica and Enterococcus spp. isolated from the nasopharynx and faeces, respectively. Nasopharyngeal and faecal samples were collected weekly over 28 days from untreated beef steers and from steers injected once with tilmicosin or tulathromycin or continuously fed tylosin phosphate at dosages recommended by manufacturers. Tilmicosin and tulathromycin were effective in lowering (P < 0.05) the prevalence of M. haemolytica, whereas subtherapeutic tylosin had no effect. M. haemolytica isolated from control- and macrolide-treated animals were susceptible to macrolides as well as to other antibiotics. Major bacteria co-isolated with M. haemolytica from the nasopharynx included Pasteurella multocida, Staphylococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Escherichia coli and Bacillus spp. With the exception of M. haemolytica and P. multocida, erythromycin resistance was frequently found in other isolated species. Both methods of macrolide administration increased (P < 0.05) the proportion of erythromycin resistant enterococci within the population, which was comprised almost exclusively of Enterococcus hirae. Injectable macrolides impacted both respiratory and enteric microbes, whereas orally administered macrolides only influenced enteric bacteria.

Molecular cloning and characterization of comC, a late competence gene of Bacillus subtilis

comC is a Bacillus subtilis gene required for the development of genetic competence. We have cloned a fragment from the B. subtilis chromosome that carries comC and contains all the information required to complement a Tn917lac insertion in comC. Genetic tests further localized comC to a 2.0-kilobase HindIII fragment. Northern (RNA) blotting experiments revealed that an 800-base-pair comC-specific transcript appeared at the time of transition from exponential to stationary phase during growth through the competence regimen. The DNA sequence of the comC region revealed two open reading frames (ORFs), transcribed in the same direction. The upstream ORF encoded a protein with apparent sequence similarity to the folC gene of Escherichia coli. Insertion of a chloramphenicol resistance determinant into this ORF and integration of the disrupted construct into the bacterial chromosome by replacement did not result in competence deficiency. The downstream ORF, which contained the Tn917lac insertion that resulted in a lack of competence, is therefore the comC gene. The predicted protein product of comC consisted of 248 amino acid residues and was quite hydrophobic. The comC gene product was not required for the expression of any other com genes tested, and this fact, together with the marked hydrophobicity of ComC, suggests that it may be a component of the DNA-processing apparatus of competent cells.

Cloning and characterization of a cluster of linked Bacillus subtilis late competence mutations

We characterized a segment of chromosomal DNA from Bacillus subtilis that was required for the development of genetic competence. The chromosomal DNA was cloned from a group of genetically linked and phenotypically similar Tn917lac insertion mutants deficient in competence. This cluster of mutations defined the comG locus. Chromosomal DNA flanking each of the six insertions was cloned. Restriction maps of the cloned plasmids revealed that their chromosomal inserts consisted of overlapping fragments. These data, together with Southern blots of chromosomal DNA from the comG mutants, showed that the six Tn917lac comG insertions occurred in the following order: comG12, comG39, comG412, comG107, comG56, and comG210. Expression of the comG Tn917lac insertions was from a promoter located upstream from the first insertion, comG12. This was determined genetically and by low-resolution S1 nuclease mapping of the 3' terminus. The comG region spanned about 5 kilobase pairs, based on low-resolution S1 nuclease mapping of the transcription terminator and Northern blotting. The comG12 mutation had a partial epistatic effect on the expression of one other com locus, comE, but none of the other comG mutations affected expression of this or any other com gene tested. Based on these conclusions, and on its size and phenotype, the comG locus must be organized as a polycistronic operon that is subject to competence-specific regulation.

Cloning and characterization of the regulatory Bacillus subtilis competence genes comA and comB

comA and comB are Bacillus subtilis competence genes that are identified by insertions of Tn917lac. They are classified as early genes because of their expression throughout growth; the expression of late com genes increases sharply during the transition to the stationary phase. The comA and comB determinants were cloned, and the 5' and 3' termini of their transcripts were localized by low-resolution S1 nuclease protection experiments. comA and comB were found by Southern blotting to be localized near one another, but they were nevertheless apparently transcribed independently. Epistatic relationships among the com genes were explored by using the beta-galactosidase expressed from transcriptional fusions as a marker. Late com genes were found to be dependent on the products of comA, comB, and sin for their expression. The sin gene is a transcriptional regulator that is required for the development of competence (N. K. Gaur, E. Dubnau, and I. Smith, J. Bacteriol. 168:860-869, 1986).

Plasmid marker rescue transformation proceeds by breakage-reunion in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis carrying a plasmid which replicates with a copy number of about 1 was transformed with linearized homologous plasmid DNA labeled with the heavy isotopes 2H and 15N, in the presence of 32Pi and 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil to inhibit DNA replication. Plasmid DNA was isolated from the transformed culture and fractionated in cesium chloride density gradients. The distribution of total and donor plasmid DNA was examined, using specific hybridization probes. The synthesis of new DNA, associated with the integration of donor moiety, was also monitored. Donor-specific sequences were present at a density intermediate between that of light and hybrid DNA. This recombinant DNA represented 1.4% of total plasmid DNA. The latter value corresponded well with the transforming activity (1.7%) obtained for the donor marker. Newly synthesized material associated with plasmid DNA at the recombinant density amounted to a minor portion of the recombinant plasmid DNA. These data suggest that, like chromosomal transformation, plasmid marker rescue transformation does not require replication for the integration of donor markers and, also like chromosomal transformation, proceeds by a breakage-reunion mechanism. The extent of donor DNA replacement of recipient DNA per plasmid molecule of 54 kilobases (27 kilobase pairs) was estimated as 16 kilobases.

Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus: genetic basis

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Complete nucleotide sequence and transcription of ermF, a macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance determinant from Bacteroides fragilis

DNA sequence analysis of a portion of an EcoRI fragment of the Bacteroides fragilis R plasmid pBF4 has allowed us to identify the macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance (MLSr) gene, ermF. ermF had a relative moles percent G + C of 32, was 798 base pairs in length, and encoded a protein of approximately 30,360 daltons. Comparison between the deduced amino acid sequence of ermF and six other erm genes from gram-positive bacteria revealed striking homologies among all of these determinants, suggesting a common origin. Based on these and other data, we believe that ermF codes for an rRNA methylase. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences upstream and downstream from the ermF gene revealed the presence of directly repeated sequences, now identified as two copies of the insertion element IS4351. One of these insertion elements was only 26 base pairs from the start codon of ermF and contained the transcriptional start signal for this gene as judged by S1 nuclease mapping experiments. Additional sequence analysis of the 26 base pairs separating ermF and IS4351 disclosed strong similarities between this region and the upstream regulatory control sequences of ermC and ermA (determinants of staphylococcal origin). These results suggested that ermF was not of Bacteroides origin and are discussed in terms of the evolution of ermF and the expression of drug resistance in heterologous hosts.

Nucleotide sequence of ermA, a macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B determinant in Staphylococcus aureus

The complete nucleotide sequence of ermA, the prototype macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance gene from Staphylococcus aureus, has been determined. The sequence predicts a 243-amino-acid protein that is homologous to those specified by ermC, ermAM, and ermD, resistance determinants from Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sanguis, and Bacillus licheniformis, respectively. The ermA transcript, identified by Northern analysis and S1 mapping, contains a 5' leader sequence of 211 bases which has the potential to encode two short peptides of 15 and 19 amino acids; the second, longer peptide has 13 amino acids in common with the putative regulatory leader peptide of ermC. The coding sequence for this peptide is deleted in several mutants in which macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance is constitutively expressed. Potential secondary structures available to the leader sequence of the wild-type (inducible) transcript and to constitutive deletion, insertion, and point mutations provide additional support for the translational attenuation model for induction of macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance.

An erythromycin-resistance gene from an erythromycin-producing strain of Arthrobacter sp

A gene (ermA) coding for a presumed erythromycin-resistance (ErR) determinant from an Er-producing Arthrobacter sp. strain (NRRLB3381) was isolated from a gene bank in phage vector lambda 2001 by probing with a Streptomyces ErR gene. Strongly hybridizing fragments were subcloned and the appropriate segments sequenced. The ermA gene is 76 mol% G + C in content and specifies a protein of 340 aa with an Mr of 37454. S1 nuclease mapping and primer extension identified the putative promoter, which resembles the consensus sequence of Escherichia coli promoters particularly in the -10 region. A potential ribosome-binding site (RBS) (AGGAG) was also located. Unexpectedly, the majority of in vivo ermA transcripts detected were only 245 nt long, suggesting that expression of ErR may be regulated post-transcriptionally. Substantial homology is observed between the predicted aa sequences of the ermA-coded protein and the products of three other ErR determinants, from organisms that do not produce Er.

N-Methyl transferase of Streptomyces erythraeus that confers resistance to the macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B antibiotics: amino acid sequence and its homology to cognate R-factor enzymes from pathogenic bacilli and cocci

The nucleotide sequence of a structural gene ermE for ribosomal RNA (rRNA) N6-amino adenine N-methyl transferase (NMT) of Streptomyces erythraeus, cloned by Thompson et al. [Gene 20 (1982) 51-62], has been determined. The NMT amino acid (aa) sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence contains extensive homology to aa sequences of cognate NMTs specified by: (1) plasmid pE194 from Staphylococcus aureus, 30% G + C, ermC; (2) plasmid pAM77 from Streptococcus sanguis, 43% G + C; as well as to (3) a chromosomal determinant from Bacillus licheniformis 759, 46% G + C, ermD, cloned in a recombinant plasmid pBD90. These findings suggest that all four NMT structural genes could have evolved from a common progenitor sequence despite the wide range of % G + C of the erm genes reflecting their current respective hosts. Comparison of the four NMT sequences with respect to localized hydrophobicity averaged over a moving window of 11 aa indicates that the common features of localized hydrophobicity that characterize the C-terminal portion of the ermE and ermD proteins are distinguishable from a contrasting pattern of hydrophobicity that characterizes the ermC and pAM77-coded proteins.