Cloning and Expression in Escherichia coli of 2-Hydroxypropylphosphonic Acid Epoxidase from the Fosfomycin-producing Organism,Pseudomonas syringae PB-5123

The fosfomycin resistance gene, fosC, has been cloned from the fosfomycin-producing organism, Pseudomonas syringae PB-5123. Sequence analysis upstream of this gene found a new ORF showing significant homology to 2-hydroxypropylphosphonic acid epoxidase from fosfomycin-producing Streptomyces wedmorensis. The purified recombinant protein of this ORF converted 2-hydroxypropylphosphonic acid to fosfomycin. This result clearly showed the ORF to encode 2-hydroxypropylphosphonic acid epoxidase in PB-5123.     

A structural and functional analysis of the glycosyltransferase BshA from Staphylococcus aureus: Insights into the reaction mechanism and regulation of bacillithiol production

Bacillithiol is a glucosamine‐derived antioxidant found in several pathogenic Gram‐positive bacteria. The compound is involved in maintaining the appropriate redox state within the cell as well as detoxifying foreign agents like the antibiotic fosfomycin. Bacillithiol is produced via the action of three enzymes, including BshA, a retaining GT‐B glycosyltransferase that utilizes UDP‐N‐acetylglucosamine and l ‐malate to produce N‐acetylglucosaminyl‐malate. Recent studies suggest that retaining GT‐B glycosyltransferases like BshA utilize a substrate‐assisted mechanism that goes through an S_Ni‐like transition state. In a previous study, we relied on X‐ray crystallography as well as computational simulations to hypothesize the manner in which substrates would bind the enzyme, but several questions about substrate binding and the role of one of the amino acid residues persisted. Another study demonstrated that BshA might be subject to feedback inhibition by bacillithiol, but this phenomenon was not analyzed further to determine the exact mechanism of inhibition. Here we present X‐ray crystallographic structures and steady‐state kinetics results that help elucidate both of these issues. Our ligand‐bound crystal structures demonstrate that the active site provides an appropriate steric and geometric arrangement of ligands to facilitate the substrate‐assisted mechanism. Finally, we show that bacillithiol is competitive for UDP‐N‐acetylglucosamine with a K_i value near 120–130 μM and likely binds within the BshA active site, suggesting that bacillithiol modulates BshA activity via feedback inhibition. The work presented here furthers our understanding of bacillithiol metabolism and can aid in the development of inhibitors to counteract resistance to antibiotics such as fosfomycin.     

Effect of antibiotics, levofloxacin and fosfomycin, on a mouse model with Escherichia coli O157 infection

There have been some reservations about the treatment of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection with antibiotics to prevent the occurrence of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). However, the administration of antimicrobial agents for EHEC infection is under discussion. Therefore, we used an experimental mouse model to assess the advantage/disadvantage of two major antibiotics, levofloxacin (LVFX) and fosfomycin (FOM). Germ-free IQI mice were inoculated with EHEC O157 strain EDL931 or #7. Bacteria colonized feces at 10(9)-10(10) CFU/g, and Shiga toxins (STXs) were detected in the feces. From 1 day after infection, mice were assigned to LVFX (20 mg/kg) once daily or FOM (400 mg/kg) once daily. A significant decrease in overall mortality was observed after treatment of LVFX, with EHEC disappearing immediately from the feces of mice. FOM also reduced mortality for one strain, the STX level decreased gradually. LVFX exhibited higher therapeutic efficacy than FOM. Strain differences were observed in the model during the treatment.     

Two different types of fosfomycin resistance in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract The fosfomycin susceptibility of 100 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and the resistance mechanisms utilized by resistant strains were examined. Washed cells prepared from the strains demonstrating MICs of more than 8 μg ml⁻¹ of fosfomycin inactivated the drug. A crude extract from strain Tf129B, highly resistant to fosfomycin, was used to study the enzymatic properties of the drug-inactivating enzyme. The optimum pH for inactivation was 7.8 and the optimum temperature of the reaction was 37°C. Glutathione was shown to be effective as a cofactor in the inactivation. It was suggested that the inactivating enzyme of Klebsiella pneumoniae was fosfomycin: glutathione-S-transferase, a constitutive enzyme located in the periplasmic space. A good correlation was found between the specific activities of this enzyme and the MIC levels; however, certain strains showed a low level of fosfomycin: glutathione-S-transferase activity which could not account for the increased MIC. Strains Tf129B and Tf408E, both demonstrating MICs of more than 1024 μg ml⁻¹ of fosfomycin carried a transferable resistance plasmid. In strain Tf129B, the mechanism of fosfomycin resistance was due to a high level of enzymic activity. In strain Tf408E, it was determined to be mainly due to the reduced permeability of the cell membrane.     

枯草芽胞杆菌168不对称转化产生磷霉素的蛋白质组学分析

旨在用蛋白质组学方法揭示枯草芽胞杆菌Bacillus subtilis 168将顺丙烯磷酸转化成磷霉素的机理.B.subtilis 168能够将顺丙烯磷酸不对称转化成磷霉素.气相色谱分析发现在转化培养基发酵液中的磷霉素的含量达816.6 tg/mL,转化率为36.05％.将分别培养在含有底物和不含底物的培养基中的B.subtilis 168的胞质蛋白进行双向凝胶电泳.对两种条件下的电泳图谱进行比较,发现有98个差异表达蛋白.其中在有底物存在时,表达量下调的点有20个,表达量上调的点52个,底物特异性表达的点有26个.对差异表达蛋白进行质谱鉴定,共鉴定到80个蛋白点,其中下调的点17个,上调的点45个,底物特异性表达的点18个.这些蛋白分别参与胁迫反应、氧化还原反应、物质转运、核苷酸代谢、糖代谢、氨基酸和蛋白质代谢等.根据上述对B.subtilis 168蛋白质组学分析结果,推测菌株是通过两步将顺丙烯磷酸转化成磷霉素的.第一步是水化反应,第二步是脱氢反应.     

Structure of fosfomycin resistance protein FosA from transposon Tn2921

The crystal structure of fosfomycin resistance protein FosA from transposon Tn2921 has been established at a resolution of 2.5 A. The protein crystallized without bound Mn(II) and K+, ions crucial for efficient catalysis, providing a structure of the apo enzyme. The protein maintains the three-dimensional domain-swapped arrangement of the paired betaalphabetabetabeta-motifs observed in the genomically encoded homologous enzyme from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA1129). The basic architecture of the active site is also maintained, despite the absence of the catalytically essential Mn(II). However, the absence of K+, which has been shown to enhance enzymatic activity, appears to contribute to conformational heterogeneity in the K(+)-binding loops.     

Flow injection spectrophotometric determination of the antibiotic fosfomycin in pharmaceutical products and urine samples after on-line thermal-induced digestion

A new flow injection (FI) method for the precise and rapid spectrophotometric determination of the antibiotic fosfomycin (FMC) in urine and pharmaceutical samples is described. The method is based on the on-line quantitative thermal-induced digestion of the analyte prior to injection into the FI system. Ammonium persulfate was used as the oxidation reagent. The resulting orthophosphate ions were determined spectrophotometrically (lambda(max) = 690 nm) using the molybdenum blue approach. Chemical and FI variables that affected on-line oxidation were studied and optimized. The proposed method is very precise (s(r) = 1.2% at 1.0 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) FMC, n = 12), offers a high sampling rate of 60 h(-1), and allows for the determination of the analyte in the range 3.0 x 10(-6) to 3.0 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) with a satisfactory 3sigma detection limit of 1.0 x 10(-6) mol L(-1). Application of the proposed method to urine and pharmaceutical samples yielded accurate results with percentage recoveries in the range 96.4-102.5%.     

Resistance to antibiotics targeted to the bacterial cell wall

Peptidoglycan is the main component of the bacterial cell wall. It is a complex, three‐dimensional mesh that surrounds the entire cell and is composed of strands of alternating glycan units crosslinked by short peptides. Its biosynthetic machinery has been, for the past five decades, a preferred target for the discovery of antibacterials. Synthesis of the peptidoglycan occurs sequentially within three cellular compartments (cytoplasm, membrane, and periplasm), and inhibitors of proteins that catalyze each stage have been identified, although not all are applicable for clinical use. A number of these antimicrobials, however, have been rendered inactive by resistance mechanisms. The employment of structural biology techniques has been instrumental in the understanding of such processes, as well as the development of strategies to overcome them. This review provides an overview of resistance mechanisms developed toward antibiotics that target bacterial cell wall precursors and its biosynthetic machinery. Strategies toward the development of novel inhibitors that could overcome resistance are also discussed.     

Identification of a novel fosfomycin resistance gene (fosA2) in Enterobacter cloacae from the Salmon River, Canada

Aims: To investigate the occurrence of fosfomycin‐resistant (fos^R) bacteria in aquatic environments. Methods and Results: A fos^R strain of Enterobacter cloacae was isolated from a water sample collected at a site (50°41′33·44″N, 119°19′49·50″W) near the mouth of the Salmon River at Salmon Arm, in south‐central British Columbia, Canada. The strain was identified by PCR screening for plasmid‐borne, fosA‐family amplicons, followed by selective plating. Sequencing of the resistance gene cloned using PCR primers to conserved flanking DNA revealed a new allele (95% amino acid identity to fosA), and I‐Ceu I PFGE showed that it was chromosomally located. In Escherichia coli, the cloned DNA conferred a greater resistance to fosfomycin than its fosA counterpart. Conclusions: Gene fosA2 conferred fosfomycin resistance in an environmental isolate of Ent. cloacae. Significance and Impact of the Study: The repurposing of older antibiotics should be considered in the light of existing reservoirs of resistance genes in the environment.