scholarly journals NorA plasmid resistance to fluoroquinolones: role of copy number and norA frameshift mutations.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1665-1669 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Sun ◽  
S Sreedharan ◽  
K Plummer ◽  
L M Fisher

Staphylococcus aureus NorA protein is a transmembrane multidrug efflux pump that confers low-level resistance to hydrophilic fluoroquinolones. The norA gene promoter is active in Escherichia coli HB101. We have examined the genetic basis of norA-mediated resistance in E. coli by introducing a wild-type norA gene into HB101 in plasmid pCL1921, pBR322, or pUC18 exhibiting copy numbers that spanned a 22-fold range. Increased ciprofloxacin resistance correlated with norA transcript levels seen by Northern (RNA) analysis. Thus, contrary to some reports, a wild-type norA gene confers fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli in a copy-number-dependent fashion and does not require mutational activation. Interestingly, a multicopy pUC19norA derivative gave transformants exhibiting a range of resistance phenotypes. The norA gene of one transformant carried a single base deletion (ATACAAT to AACAAT; the deleted base is underlined) in the putative--10 Pribnow box resulting in a promoter down-regulatory mutation; a second plasmid had acquired a frameshift producing a null mutation at codon 112. These mutations override the dual resistance-growth-inhibitory phenotype of high-copy-number norA plasmids. The results have implications for using the standard E. coli HB101 system to assess NorA function and potentially for plasmid-borne transmission of norA-mediated drug resistance.

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1515-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Wang ◽  
Joann L. Dzink-Fox ◽  
Minjun Chen ◽  
Stuart B. Levy

ABSTRACT The genetic basis for fluoroquinolone resistance was examined in 30 high-level fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coliclinical isolates from Beijing, China. Each strain also demonstrated resistance to a variety of other antibiotics. PCR sequence analysis of the quinolone resistance-determining region of the topoisomerase genes (gyrA/B, parC) revealed three to five mutations known to be associated with fluoroquinolone resistance. Western blot analysis failed to demonstrate overexpression of MarA, and Northern blot analysis did not detect overexpression of soxS RNA in any of the clinical strains. The AcrA protein of the AcrAB multidrug efflux pump was overexpressed in 19 of 30 strains of E. colitested, and all 19 strains were tolerant to organic solvents. PCR amplification of the complete acrR (regulator/repressor) gene of eight isolates revealed amino acid changes in four isolates, a 9-bp deletion in another, and a 22-bp duplication in a sixth strain. Complementation with a plasmid-borne wild-type acrR gene reduced the level of AcrA in the mutants and partially restored antibiotic susceptibility 1.5- to 6-fold. This study shows that mutations in acrR are an additional genetic basis for fluoroquinolone resistance.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1639-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Polleichtner ◽  
Christian Andersen

Efflux pumps play a major role in multidrug resistance of pathogenic bacteria. The TolC homologue HI1462 was identified as the single channel-tunnel in Haemophilus influenzae required to form a functional multidrug efflux pump. The outer-membrane protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and reconstituted in black lipid membranes. It exhibited a comparatively small single-channel conductance of 43 pS in 1 M KCl and is the first known TolC homologue which is anion-selective. The HI1462 structure was modelled and an arginine residue lining the tunnel entrance was identified. The channel-tunnel of a mutant with the arginine substituted by an alanine residue was cation-selective and had a sevenfold higher single-channel conductance compared to wild-type. These results confirm that the arginine is responsible for anion selectivity and forms a salt bridge with a glutamate residue of the adjacent monomer, establishing a circular network, which keeps the tunnel entrance in a tightly closed conformation. In in vivo experiments, both the wild-type HI1462 and the mutant were able to substitute for E. coli TolC in the haemolysin secretion system, but not in the AcrAB/TolC multidrug efflux pump. The structure–function relationship of HI1462 is discussed in the context of the well-studied TolC channel-tunnel of E. coli.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 665-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Visalli ◽  
Ellen Murphy ◽  
Steven J. Projan ◽  
Patricia A. Bradford

ABSTRACT Tigecycline has good broad-spectrum activity against many gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens with the notable exception of the Proteeae. A study was performed to identify the mechanism responsible for the reduced susceptibility to tigecycline in Proteus mirabilis. Two independent transposon insertion mutants of P. mirabilis that had 16-fold-increased susceptibility to tigecycline were mapped to the acrB gene homolog of the Escherichia coli AcrRAB efflux system. Wild-type levels of decreased susceptibility to tigecycline were restored to the insertion mutants by complementation with a clone containing a PCR-derived fragment from the parental wild-type acrRAB efflux gene cluster. The AcrAB transport system appears to be associated with the intrinsic reduced susceptibility to tigecycline in P. mirabilis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 3386-3393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Sánchez ◽  
Ana Alonso ◽  
Jose L. Martinez

ABSTRACT We report on the cloning of the gene smeT, which encodes the transcriptional regulator of the Stenotrophomonas maltophilia efflux pump SmeDEF. SmeT belongs to the TetR and AcrR family of transcriptional regulators. The smeT gene is located upstream from the structural operon of the pump genes smeDEF and is divergently transcribed from those genes. Experiments with S. maltophilia and the heterologous host Escherichia coli have demonstrated that SmeT is a transcriptional repressor. S1 nuclease mapping has demonstrated that expression of smeT is driven by a single promoter lying close to the 5′ end of the gene and that expression of smeDEF is driven by an unique promoter that overlaps with promoter PsmeT. The level of expression of smeT is higher in smeDEF-overproducing S. maltophilia strain D457R, which suggests that SmeT represses its own expression. Band-shifting assays have shown that wild-type strain S. maltophilia D457 contains a cellular factor(s) capable of binding to the intergenic smeT-smeD region. That cellular factor(s) was absent from smeDEF-overproducing S. maltophilia strain D457R. The sequence of smeT from D457R showed a point mutation that led to a Leu166Gln change within the SmeT protein. This change allowed overexpression of both smeDEF and smeT in D457R. It was noteworthy that expression of wild-type SmeT did not fully complement the smeT mutation in D457R. This suggests that the wild-type protein is not dominant over the mutant SmeT.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 3733-3738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun-Woo Lee ◽  
M. Nazmul Huda ◽  
Teruo Kuroda ◽  
Tohru Mizushima ◽  
Tomofusa Tsuchiya

ABSTRACT A DNA fragment responsible for resistance to antimicrobial agents was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 by using drug-hypersensitive mutant Escherichia coli KAM32 as a host cell. Cells of E. coli KAM32 harboring a recombinant plasmid (pAEF82) carrying the DNA fragment became resistant to many structurally unrelated antimicrobial agents, such as norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, acriflavine, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, tetraphenylphosphonium chloride, daunorubicin, and doxorubicin. Since the sequence of the whole genome of E. faecalis is known, we sequenced several portions of the DNA insert in plasmid pAEF82 and identified two open reading frames within the insert. We designated the genes efrA and efrB. A search of the deduced amino acid sequences of EfrA and EfrB revealed that they are similar to each other and that they belong to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of multidrug efflux transporters. Transformed E. coli KAM32 cells harboring efrAB showed energy-dependent efflux of acriflavine. The efflux activity was inhibited by reserpine, verapamil, and sodium-o-vanadate, known inhibitors of ABC efflux pumps.


2007 ◽  
Vol 190 (2) ◽  
pp. 648-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taira Matsuo ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Yusuke Minato ◽  
Wakano Ogawa ◽  
Tohru Mizushima ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We cloned genes, designated smdAB, that encode a multidrug efflux pump from the chromosomal DNA of clinically isolated Serratia marcescens NUSM8906. For cells of the drug-hypersensitive strain Escherichia coli KAM32 harboring a recombinant plasmid carrying smdAB, structurally unrelated antimicrobial agents such as norfloxacin, tetracycline, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and Hoechst 33342 showed elevated MICs. The deduced amino acid sequences of both SmdA and SmdB exhibited similarities to the sequences of ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-type multidrug efflux pumps. The efflux of DAPI and Hoechst 33342 from E. coli cells expressing SmdAB was observed, and the efflux activities were inhibited by sodium o-vanadate, which is a well-known ATPase inhibitor. The introduction of smdA or smdB alone into E. coli KAM32 did not elevate the MIC of DAPI; thus, both SmdA and SmdB were required for function. These results indicate that SmdAB is probably a heterodimeric multidrug efflux pump of the ABC family in S. marcescens.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 5102-5110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Ramírez-Zavala ◽  
Selene Mogavero ◽  
Eva Schöller ◽  
Christoph Sasse ◽  
P. David Rogers ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTOverexpression of the multidrug efflux pumpMDR1is one mechanism by which the pathogenic yeastCandida albicansdevelops resistance to the antifungal drug fluconazole. The constitutive upregulation ofMDR1in fluconazole-resistant, clinicalC. albicansisolates is caused by gain-of-function mutations in the zinc cluster transcription factor Mrr1. It has been suggested that Mrr1 activatesMDR1transcription by recruiting Ada2, a subunit of the SAGA/ADA coactivator complex. However,MDR1expression is also regulated by the bZIP transcription factor Cap1, which mediates the oxidative stress response inC. albicans. Here, we show that a hyperactive Mrr1 containing a gain-of-function mutation promotesMDR1overexpression independently of Ada2. In contrast, a C-terminally truncated, hyperactive Cap1 causedMDR1overexpression in a wild-type strain but only weakly in mutants lackingADA2. In the presence of benomyl or H2O2, compounds that induceMDR1expression in an Mrr1- and Cap1-dependent fashion,MDR1was upregulated with the same efficiency in wild-type andada2Δ cells. These results indicate that Cap1, but not Mrr1, recruits Ada2 to theMDR1promoter to induce the expression of this multidrug efflux pump and that Ada2 is not required forMDR1overexpression in fluconazole-resistantC. albicansstrains containing gain-of-function mutations in Mrr1.


2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 572-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramón González-Pasayo ◽  
Esperanza Martínez-Romero

Multidrug efflux pumps of bacteria are involved in the resistance to various antibiotics and toxic compounds. In Rhizobium etli, a mutualistic symbiont of Phaseolus vulgaris (bean), genes resembling multidrug efflux pump genes were identified and designated rmrA and rmrB. rmrA was obtained after the screening of transposon-generated fusions that are inducible by bean-root released flavonoids. The predicted gene products of rmrAB shared significant homology to membrane fusion and major facilitator proteins, respectively. Mutants of rmrA formed on average 40% less nodules in bean, while mutants of rmrA and rmrB had enhanced sensitivity to phytoalexins, flavonoids, and salicylic acid, compared with the wild-type strain. Multidrug resistance genes emrAB from Escherichia coli complemented an rmrA mutant from R. etli for resistance to high concentrations of naringenin.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh K Maurya ◽  
Hari S. Misra

AbstractThe Deinococcus radiodurans multipartite genome system (MGS) consists of chromosome I (ChrI) and secondary genome elements; Chr II and megaplasmid (MP). The sequences upstream to parAB operons in Chr II (cisII) and MP (cisMP) helped an E. coli plasmid maintenance in D. radiodurans and showed sequence specific interactions with DnaA and ParBs. The cells devoid of cisII (ΔcisII) or cisMP (ΔcisMP) showed reduced γ radiation resistance and copy number of Chr II and MP. Fluorescent Reporter-Operator System (FROS) developed for ChrI, ChrII and MP in ΔcisII or ΔcisMP mutants showed no change in wild type pattern of Chr I localization. However, the relative copy numbers of Chr II and MP had reduced while anucleate cells had increased in mutants. These results suggested that cisII and cisMP elements contain both ori and centromere-like functions, and like other MGS bacteria, the Chr I and secondary genome are maintained independently in D. radiodurans.


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