Skip to main content
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1997 Jun;41(6):1385–1388. doi: 10.1128/aac.41.6.1385

Isolation of a gene encoding a novel spectinomycin phosphotransferase from Legionella pneumophila.

T M Suter 1, V K Viswanathan 1, N P Cianciotto 1
PMCID: PMC163921  PMID: 9174205

Abstract

A gene capable of conferring spectinomycin resistance was isolated from Legionella pneumophila, the agent of Legionnaires' disease. The gene (aph) encoded a 36-kDa protein which has similarity to aminoglycoside phosphotransferases. Biochemical analysis confirmed that aph encodes a phosphotransferase which modifies spectinomycin but not hygromycin, kanamycin, or streptomycin. The strain that was the source of aph demonstrated resistance to spectinomycin, and Southern hybridizations determined that aph also exists in other legionellae.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (146.9 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barker J. E., Farrell I. D. The effects of single and combined antibiotics on the growth of Legionella pneumophila using time-kill studies. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1990 Jul;26(1):45–53. doi: 10.1093/jac/26.1.45. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blázquez J., Davies J., Moreno F. Mutations in the aphA-2 gene of transposon Tn5 mapping within the regions highly conserved in aminoglycoside-phosphotransferases strongly reduce aminoglycoside resistance. Mol Microbiol. 1991 Jun;5(6):1511–1518. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1991.tb00798.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cianciotto N. P., Bangsborg J. M., Eisenstein B. I., Engleberg N. C. Identification of mip-like genes in the genus Legionella. Infect Immun. 1990 Sep;58(9):2912–2918. doi: 10.1128/iai.58.9.2912-2918.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cianciotto N., Eisenstein B. I., Engleberg N. C., Shuman H. Genetics and molecular pathogenesis of Legionella pneumophila, an intracellular parasite of macrophages. Mol Biol Med. 1989 Oct;6(5):409–424. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dowling J. N., McDevitt D. A., Pasculle A. W. Isolation and preliminary characterization of erythromycin-resistant variants of Legionella micdadei and Legionella pneumophila. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1985 Feb;27(2):272–274. doi: 10.1128/aac.27.2.272. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Edelstein P. H. Antimicrobial chemotherapy for legionnaires' disease: a review. Clin Infect Dis. 1995 Dec;21 (Suppl 3):S265–S276. doi: 10.1093/clind/21.supplement_3.s265. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fields B. S. The molecular ecology of legionellae. Trends Microbiol. 1996 Jul;4(7):286–290. doi: 10.1016/0966-842x(96)10041-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fu K. P., Neu H. C. Inactivation of beta-lactam antibiotics by Legionella pneumophila. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 Nov;16(5):561–564. doi: 10.1128/aac.16.5.561. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fujii T., Sato K., Miyata K., Inoue M., Mitsuhashi S. Biochemical properties of beta-lactamase produced by Legionella gormanii. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1986 May;29(5):925–926. doi: 10.1128/aac.29.5.925. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Haas M. J., Dowding J. E. Aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. Methods Enzymol. 1975;43:611–628. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(75)43124-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hollingshead S., Vapnek D. Nucleotide sequence analysis of a gene encoding a streptomycin/spectinomycin adenylyltransferase. Plasmid. 1985 Jan;13(1):17–30. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(85)90052-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Horwitz M. A. Interactions between macrophages and Legionella pneumophila. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1992;181:265–282. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-77377-8_10. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hoshiko S., Nojiri C., Matsunaga K., Katsumata K., Satoh E., Nagaoka K. Nucleotide sequence of the ribostamycin phosphotransferase gene and of its control region in Streptomyces ribosidificus. Gene. 1988 Sep 7;68(2):285–296. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(88)90031-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kaster K. R., Burgett S. G., Rao R. N., Ingolia T. D. Analysis of a bacterial hygromycin B resistance gene by transcriptional and translational fusions and by DNA sequencing. Nucleic Acids Res. 1983 Oct 11;11(19):6895–6911. doi: 10.1093/nar/11.19.6895. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kocabiyik S., Perlin M. H. Altered substrate specificity by substitutions at Tyr218 in bacterial aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase-II. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1992 Jun 1;72(2):199–202. doi: 10.1016/0378-1097(92)90529-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Leskiw B. K., Lawlor E. J., Fernandez-Abalos J. M., Chater K. F. TTA codons in some genes prevent their expression in a class of developmental, antibiotic-negative, Streptomyces mutants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Mar 15;88(6):2461–2465. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.6.2461. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Martin P., Jullien E., Courvalin P. Nucleotide sequence of Acinetobacter baumannii aphA-6 gene: evolutionary and functional implications of sequence homologies with nucleotide-binding proteins, kinases and other aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. Mol Microbiol. 1988 Sep;2(5):615–625. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1988.tb00070.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Moffie B. G., Mouton R. P. Sensitivity and resistance of Legionella pneumophila to some antibiotics and combinations of antibiotics. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1988 Oct;22(4):457–462. doi: 10.1093/jac/22.4.457. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Murphy E. Nucleotide sequence of a spectinomycin adenyltransferase AAD(9) determinant from Staphylococcus aureus and its relationship to AAD(3") (9). Mol Gen Genet. 1985;200(1):33–39. doi: 10.1007/BF00383309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Oka A., Sugisaki H., Takanami M. Nucleotide sequence of the kanamycin resistance transposon Tn903. J Mol Biol. 1981 Apr 5;147(2):217–226. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(81)90438-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Pissowotzki K., Mansouri K., Piepersberg W. Genetics of streptomycin production in Streptomyces griseus: molecular structure and putative function of genes strELMB2N. Mol Gen Genet. 1991 Dec;231(1):113–123. doi: 10.1007/BF00293829. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Salauze D., Davies J. Isolation and characterisation of an aminoglycoside phosphotransferase from neomycin-producing Micromonospora chalcea; comparison with that of Streptomyces fradiae and other producers of 4,6-disubstituted 2-deoxystreptamine antibiotics. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1991 Dec;44(12):1432–1443. doi: 10.7164/antibiotics.44.1432. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Shaw K. J., Rather P. N., Hare R. S., Miller G. H. Molecular genetics of aminoglycoside resistance genes and familial relationships of the aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. Microbiol Rev. 1993 Mar;57(1):138–163. doi: 10.1128/mr.57.1.138-163.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Thompson C. J., Gray G. S. Nucleotide sequence of a streptomycete aminoglycoside phosphotransferase gene and its relationship to phosphotransferases encoded by resistance plasmids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Sep;80(17):5190–5194. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.17.5190. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Thompson P. R., Hughes D. W., Wright G. D. Mechanism of aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase type IIIa: His188 is not a phosphate-accepting residue. Chem Biol. 1996 Sep;3(9):747–755. doi: 10.1016/s1074-5521(96)90251-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Winn W. C., Jr Legionnaires disease: historical perspective. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1988 Jan;1(1):60–81. doi: 10.1128/cmr.1.1.60. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES