mfsQ encoding an MFS efflux pump mediates adaptive protection of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia against benzalkonium chloride

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurairat Chittrakanwong ◽  
Nisanart Charoenlap ◽  
Skorn Mongkolsuk ◽  
Paiboon Vattanaviboon
Keyword(s):  
Benzalkonium Chloride ◽  
Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Adaptive Resistance ◽  
Adaptive Protection ◽  
Hospital Environments ◽  
Major Facilitator

The persistence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, especially in hospital environments where disinfectants are used intensively, is one of the important factors that allow this opportunistic pathogen to establish nosocomial infections. In the present study, we illustrated that S. maltophilia possesses adaptive resistance to the disinfectant benzalkonium chloride (BAC). This BAC adaptation was abolished in the ΔmfsQ mutant, in which a gene encoding an efflux transporter belonging to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) was deleted. The ΔmfsQ mutant also showed increased susceptibility to BAC and chlorhexidine gluconate relative to a parental wild type. The expression of mfsQ increased upon exposure to quaternary ammonium compounds, including BAC. Thus, the results of this study suggest that mfsQ plays a role in both adaptive and non-adaptive protection of S. maltophilia from the toxicity of the disinfectant BAC.

The mycobacterial efflux pump EfpA can induce high drug tolerance to many anti-tuberculosis drugs, including moxifloxacin, in Mycobacterium smegmatis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepika Rai ◽  
Sarika Mehra
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Smegmatis ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Drug Tolerance ◽  
Inducible Promoter ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Expression Level ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitor ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Active Efflux ◽  
Major Facilitator

Active efflux of drugs across the membrane is a major survival strategy of bacteria against many drugs. In this work, we characterize an efflux pump EfpA, from the major facilitator superfamily, that is highly conserved among both slow growing and fast-growing mycobacterium species and has been found to be upregulated in many clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis . The gene encoding EfpA from Mycobacterium smegmatis was over-expressed under both constitutive and an inducible promoter. Expression of efpA gene under both the promoters resulted in greater than 32-fold increased drug tolerance of M. smegmatis cells to many first-line (rifampicin, isoniazid and streptomycin) and second-line (amikacin) anti-tuberculosis drugs. Notably, drug tolerance of M. smegmatis cells to moxifloxacin increased by more than 180-fold when efpA was over-expressed. The increase in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) correlated with the decreased uptake of drugs including norfloxacin, moxifloxacin and ethidium bromide and the high MIC could be reversed in the presence of an efflux pump inhibitor. A correlation was observed between the MIC of drugs and the efflux pump expression level, suggesting that the latter could be modulated by varying the expression level of the efflux pump. The expression of high levels of efpA did not impact the fitness of the cells when supplemented with glucose.The efpA gene is conserved across both pathogenic and non-pathogenic mycobacteria. The efpA gene from the Mycobacterium bovis BCG/ M. tuberculosis , which is 80% identical to efpA from M. smegmatis , also led to decreased antimicrobial efficacy to many drugs, although the fold-change was lower. When over-expressed in M. bovis BCG, an 8-fold higher drug tolerance to moxifloxacin was observed . This is the first report of an efflux pump from mycobacterium species that leads to higher drug tolerance to moxifloxacin, a promising new drug for the treatment of tuberculosis.

scholarly journals Pseudomonas aeruginosa adapts to octenidine via a combination of efflux and membrane remodelling

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy J. Bock ◽  
Philip M. Ferguson ◽  
Maria Clarke ◽  
Vichayanee Pumpitakkul ◽  
Matthew E. Wand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Membrane Composition ◽  
Base Pair Deletion ◽  
Family Gene ◽  
Major Facilitator

AbstractPseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen capable of stably adapting to the antiseptic octenidine by an unknown mechanism. Here we characterise this adaptation, both in the laboratory and a simulated clinical setting, and identify a novel antiseptic resistance mechanism. In both settings, 2 to 4-fold increase in octenidine tolerance was associated with stable mutations and a specific 12 base pair deletion in a putative Tet-repressor family gene (smvR), associated with a constitutive increase in expression of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) efflux pump SmvA. Adaptation to higher octenidine concentrations led to additional stable mutations, most frequently in phosphatidylserine synthase pssA and occasionally in phosphatidylglycerophosphate synthase pgsA genes, resulting in octenidine tolerance 16- to 256-fold higher than parental strains. Metabolic changes were consistent with mitigation of oxidative stress and altered plasma membrane composition and order. Mutations in SmvAR and phospholipid synthases enable higher level, synergistic tolerance of octenidine.

scholarly journals Characterization oftetA-like gene encoding for a major facilitator superfamily efflux pump inStreptococcus thermophilus

2014 ◽  
Vol 355 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Arioli ◽  
Simone Guglielmetti ◽  
Stefano Amalfitano ◽  
Carlo Viti ◽  
Emmanuela Marchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Major Facilitator

scholarly journals Mechanisms of Increased Resistance to Chlorhexidine and Cross-Resistance to Colistin following Exposure of Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates to Chlorhexidine

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Wand ◽  
Lucy J. Bock ◽  
Laura C. Bonney ◽  
J. Mark Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Klebsiella Pneumoniae ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Cross Resistance ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Elevated Expression ◽  
Major Facilitator

ABSTRACT Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that is often difficult to treat due to its multidrug resistance (MDR). We have previously shown that K. pneumoniae strains are able to “adapt” (become more resistant) to the widely used bisbiguanide antiseptic chlorhexidine. Here, we investigated the mechanisms responsible for and the phenotypic consequences of chlorhexidine adaptation, with particular reference to antibiotic cross-resistance. In five of six strains, adaptation to chlorhexidine also led to resistance to the last-resort antibiotic colistin. Here, we show that chlorhexidine adaptation is associated with mutations in the two-component regulator phoPQ and a putative Tet repressor gene (smvR) adjacent to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) efflux pump gene, smvA. Upregulation of smvA (10- to 27-fold) was confirmed in smvR mutant strains, and this effect and the associated phenotype were suppressed when a wild-type copy of smvR was introduced on plasmid pACYC. Upregulation of phoPQ (5- to 15-fold) and phoPQ-regulated genes, pmrD (6- to 19-fold) and pmrK (18- to 64-fold), was confirmed in phoPQ mutant strains. In contrast, adaptation of K. pneumoniae to colistin did not result in increased chlorhexidine resistance despite the presence of mutations in phoQ and elevated phoPQ, pmrD, and pmrK transcript levels. Insertion of a plasmid containing phoPQ from chlorhexidine-adapted strains into wild-type K. pneumoniae resulted in elevated expression levels of phoPQ, pmrD, and pmrK and increased resistance to colistin, but not chlorhexidine. The potential risk of colistin resistance emerging in K. pneumoniae as a consequence of exposure to chlorhexidine has important clinical implications for infection prevention procedures.

scholarly journals New Plasmid-Mediated Fluoroquinolone Efflux Pump, QepA, Found in an Escherichia coli Clinical Isolate

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 3354-3360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunikazu Yamane ◽  
Jun-ichi Wachino ◽  
Satowa Suzuki ◽  
Kouji Kimura ◽  
Naohiro Shibata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Resistance Level ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Susceptibility Tests ◽  
Major Facilitator

ABSTRACT Plasmid-mediated Qnr and AAC(6′)-Ib-cr have been recognized as new molecular mechanisms affecting fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance. C316, an Escherichia coli strain demonstrating resistance to various FQs, was isolated in Japan. Resistance to FQs was augmented in an E. coli CSH2 transconjugant, but PCR failed to detect qnr genes, suggesting the presence of novel plasmid-mediated FQ resistance mechanisms. Susceptibility tests, DNA manipulation, and analyses of the gene and its product were performed to characterize the genetic determinant. A novel FQ-resistant gene, qepA, was identified in a plasmid, pHPA, of E. coli C316, and both qepA and rmtB genes were mediated by a probable transposable element flanked by two copies of IS26. Levels of resistance to norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin were significantly elevated in E. coli transformants harboring qepA under AcrB-TolC-deficient conditions. QepA showed considerable similarities to transporters belonging to the 14-transmembrane-segment family of environmental actinomycetes. The effect of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) on accumulation of norfloxacin was assayed in a qepA-harboring E. coli transformant. The intracellular accumulation of norfloxacin was decreased in a qepA-expressing E. coli transformant, but this phenomenon was canceled by CCCP. The augmented FQ resistance level acquired by the probable intergeneric transfer of a gene encoding a major facilitator superfamily-type efflux pump from some environmental microbes to E. coli was first identified. Surveillance of the qepA-harboring clinical isolates should be encouraged to minimize further dissemination of the kind of plasmid-dependent FQ resistance determinants among pathogenic microbes.

scholarly journals Two Distinct Major Facilitator Superfamily Drug Efflux Pumps Mediate Chloramphenicol Resistance in Streptomyces coelicolor

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 4673-4677 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Vecchione ◽  
Blair Alexander ◽  
Jason K. Sello
Keyword(s):  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Efflux Pumps ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Antibacterial Drugs ◽  
Chloramphenicol Resistance ◽  
Drug Activity ◽  
Major Facilitator

ABSTRACT Chloramphenicol, florfenicol, and thiamphenicol are used as antibacterial drugs in clinical and veterinary medicine. Two efflux pumps of the major facilitator superfamily encoded by the cmlR1 and cmlR2 genes mediate resistance to these antibiotics in Streptomyces coelicolor, a close relative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The transcription of both genes was observed by reverse transcription-PCR. Disruption of cmlR1 decreased the chloramphenicol MIC 1.6-fold, while disruption of cmlR2 lowered the MIC 16-fold. The chloramphenicol MIC of wild-type S. coelicolor decreased fourfold and eightfold in the presence of reserpine and Phe-Arg-β-naphthylamide, respectively. These compounds are known to potentiate the activity of some antibacterial drugs via efflux pump inhibition. While reserpine is known to potentiate drug activity against gram-positive bacteria, this is the first time that Phe-Arg-β-naphthylamide has been shown to potentiate drug activity against a gram-positive bacterium.

scholarly journals Characterization and Functional Complementation of a Nonlethal Deletion in the Chromosome of a β-Glycosidase Mutant of Sulfolobus solfataricus

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (13) ◽  
pp. 3948-3957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simonetta Bartolucci ◽  
Mosè Rossi ◽  
Raffaele Cannio
Keyword(s):  
Insertion Sequence ◽  
Genomic Sequence ◽  
Sulfolobus Solfataricus ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Sequence Element ◽  
Plasmid Construct ◽  
Major Facilitator ◽  
Flanking Regions ◽  
Insertion Sequence Element

ABSTRACT LacS− mutants of Sulfolobus solfataricus defective in β-glycosidase activity were isolated in order to explore genomic instability and exploit novel strategies for transformation and complementation. One of the mutants showed a stable phenotype with no reversion; analysis of its chromosome revealed the total absence of the β-glycosidase gene (lacS). Fine mapping performed in comparison to the genomic sequence of S. solfataricus P2 indicated an extended deletion of ∼13 kb. The sequence analysis also revealed that this chromosomal rearrangement was a nonconservative transposition event driven by the mobile insertion sequence element ISC1058. In order to complement the LacS− phenotype, an expression vector was constructed by inserting the lacS coding sequence with its 5′ and 3′ flanking regions into the pEXSs plasmid. Since no transformant could be recovered by selection on lactose as the sole nutrient, another plasmid construct containing a larger genomic fragment was tested for complementation; this region also comprised the lacTr (lactose transporter) gene encoding a putative membrane protein homologous to the major facilitator superfamily. Cells transformed with both genes were able to form colonies on lactose plates and to be stained with the β-glycosidase chromogenic substrate X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl-β-d-galactopyranoside).

scholarly journals Structural and Functional Study of the Phenicol-Specific Efflux Pump FloR Belonging to the Major Facilitator Superfamily

2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 2965-2971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Braibant ◽  
Jacqueline Chevalier ◽  
Elisabeth Chaslus-Dancla ◽  
Jean-Marie Pagès ◽  
Axel Cloeckaert
Keyword(s):  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Functional Study ◽  
Efflux Transporters ◽  
Chloramphenicol Resistance ◽  
Active Efflux ◽  
Transmembrane Segments ◽  
Efflux Mechanism ◽  
Major Facilitator

ABSTRACT The florfenicol-chloramphenicol resistance gene floR from Salmonella enterica was previously identified and postulated to belong to the major facilitator (MF) superfamily of drug exporters. Here, we confirmed a computer-predicted transmembrane topological model of FloR, using the phoA gene fusion method, and classified this protein in the DHA12 family (containing 12 transmembrane domains) of MF efflux transporters. We also showed that FloR is a transporter specific for structurally associated phenicol drugs (chloramphenicol, florfenicol, thiamphenicol) which utilizes the proton motive force to energize an active efflux mechanism. By site-directed mutagenesis of specific charged residues belonging to putative transmembrane segments (TMS), two residues essential for active efflux function, D23 in TMS1 and R109 in TMS4, were identified. Of these, the acidic residue D23 seems to participate directly in the affinity pocket involved in phenicol derivative recognition. A third residue, E283 in TMS9, seems to be necessary for correct membrane folding of the transporter.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document