Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1992 Feb;36(2):273–276. doi: 10.1128/aac.36.2.273

Comparison of enterococcal and staphylococcal beta-lactamase-encoding fragments.

M C Smith 1, B E Murray 1
PMCID: PMC188349  PMID: 1318675

Abstract

A restriction map of a 13.5-kb EcoRI fragment encoding beta-lactamase from a plasmid isolated from enterococcal strain PA was prepared and found to differ markedly from the published maps of beta-lactamase-encoding EcoRI fragments of two staphylococcal plasmids and the plasmid from enterococcal strain HH22. This comparison also showed that one of two contiguous EcoRV fragments that encompass the beta-lactamase gene differs in size in the PA strain from that found in the other strains. However, restriction sites in the beta-lactamase structural gene (blaZ) were identical in all four plasmids. Further studies compared the beta-lactamase genes of four clinical enterococcal isolates from various geographic locations with those described above. Isolates from Virginia and Florida generated EcoRV fragments identical to those from the plasmid from strain PA, while isolates from Lebanon and Argentina showed EcoRV fragments analogous to those from HH22 and the staphylococci studied. Although there is evidence suggesting that some of these beta-lactamase-producing enterococcal isolates represent a single strain, this study indicates that there is significant variation in the plasmids that encode beta-lactamase.

Full text

PDF
273

Images in this article

275Image
on p.275
276Image
on p.276

Selected References

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

  1. Chang A. C., Cohen S. N. Construction and characterization of amplifiable multicopy DNA cloning vehicles derived from the P15A cryptic miniplasmid. J Bacteriol. 1978 Jun;134(3):1141–1156. doi: 10.1128/jb.134.3.1141-1156.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dunny G. M., Craig R. A., Carron R. L., Clewell D. B. Plasmid transfer in Streptococcus faecalis: production of multiple sex pheromones by recipients. Plasmid. 1979 Jul;2(3):454–465. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(79)90029-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ingerman M., Pitsakis P. G., Rosenberg A., Hessen M. T., Abrutyn E., Murray B. E., Levison M. E. beta-Lactamase production in experimental endocarditis due to aminoglycoside-resistant Streptococcus faecalis. J Infect Dis. 1987 Jun;155(6):1226–1232. doi: 10.1093/infdis/155.6.1226. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Lopardo H., Casimir L., Hernández C., Rubeglio E. A. Isolation of three strains of beta-lactamase-producing Enterococcus faecalis in Argentina. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1990 Jun;9(6):402–405. doi: 10.1007/BF01979469. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. McLaughlin J. R., Murray C. L., Rabinowitz J. C. Unique features in the ribosome binding site sequence of the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus beta-lactamase gene. J Biol Chem. 1981 Nov 10;256(21):11283–11291. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Murray B. E., Church D. A., Wanger A., Zscheck K., Levison M. E., Ingerman M. J., Abrutyn E., Mederski-Samoraj B. Comparison of two beta-lactamase-producing strains of Streptococcus faecalis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1986 Dec;30(6):861–864. doi: 10.1128/aac.30.6.861. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Murray B. E., Mederski-Samaroj B. Transferable beta-lactamase. A new mechanism for in vitro penicillin resistance in Streptococcus faecalis. J Clin Invest. 1983 Sep;72(3):1168–1171. doi: 10.1172/JCI111042. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Murray B. E., Mederski-Samoraj B., Foster S. K., Brunton J. L., Harford P. In vitro studies of plasmid-mediated penicillinase from Streptococcus faecalis suggest a staphylococcal origin. J Clin Invest. 1986 Jan;77(1):289–293. doi: 10.1172/JCI112289. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Murray B. E., Singh K. V., Markowitz S. M., Lopardo H. A., Patterson J. E., Zervos M. J., Rubeglio E., Eliopoulos G. M., Rice L. B., Goldstein F. W. Evidence for clonal spread of a single strain of beta-lactamase-producing Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis to six hospitals in five states. J Infect Dis. 1991 Apr;163(4):780–785. doi: 10.1093/infdis/163.4.780. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Peyru G., Wexler L. F., Novick R. P. Naturally occurring penicillinase plasmids in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol. 1969 Apr;98(1):215–221. doi: 10.1128/jb.98.1.215-221.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rowland S. J., Dyke K. G. Characterization of the staphylococcal beta-lactamase transposon Tn552. EMBO J. 1989 Sep;8(9):2761–2773. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb08418.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Wanger A. R., Murray B. E. Comparison of enterococcal and staphylococcal beta-lactamase plasmids. J Infect Dis. 1990 Jan;161(1):54–58. doi: 10.1093/infdis/161.1.54. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Weber D. A., Goering R. V. Tn4201, a beta-lactamase transposon in Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1988 Aug;32(8):1164–1169. doi: 10.1128/aac.32.8.1164. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Yanisch-Perron C., Vieira J., Messing J. Improved M13 phage cloning vectors and host strains: nucleotide sequences of the M13mp18 and pUC19 vectors. Gene. 1985;33(1):103–119. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(85)90120-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Zscheck K. K., Hull R., Murray B. E. Restriction mapping and hybridization studies of a beta-lactamase-encoding fragment from Streptococcus (Enterococcus) faecalis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1988 May;32(5):768–769. doi: 10.1128/aac.32.5.768. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Zscheck K. K., Murray B. E. Nucleotide sequence of the beta-lactamase gene from Enterococcus faecalis HH22 and its similarity to staphylococcal beta-lactamase genes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1991 Sep;35(9):1736–1740. doi: 10.1128/aac.35.9.1736. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES