Kinetics of Penicillinase Induction and Variation of Penicillinase Translation in Staphylococcus aureus

At neutral pH, the rate of penicillinase synthesis by staphylococci declines gradually after removal of free inducer, while at pH 5.4 enzyme formation is generally linear for an extended period. Linear synthesis of penicillinase was observed at neutral pH in nonsaturating concentrations (1 μg/ml) of actinomycin D. The rate of enzyme synthesis, corrected for inhibition of growth caused by the antibiotic, was relatively independent of the time of actinomycin addition. The lag preceding linear enzyme formation increased with the interval between induction and the addition of actinomycin. The findings are consistent with the concept that, at neutral pH, “operons” activated by induction are rapidly repressed, while at pH 5.4, this process is delayed.

At a concentration of 4 μg/ml, actinomycin D blocked penicillinase messenger synthesis and also elicited a short-lived acceleration of the increase of penicillinase activity in uninduced and, late after induction, in induced cultures. This effect did not require a functional genomic repressor mechanism since it occurred also in a penicillinase-constitutive strain. It required protein synthesis and could not be attributed to a greater enzyme stability in the presence of actinomycin. The results suggest enhanced penicillinase translation after addition of actinomycin D.

     

Stability of Penicillinase Plasmids in Staphylococcus aureus

The isolation of mutants of Staphylococcus aureus that are affected in the stability of penicillinase plasmids is described. One mutation is plasmid borne and results in nonreplication of the plasmid at 42 C. A second type of mutation is host-borne and gives rise to instability of both mcr(I) and mcr(II) penicillinase plasmids but not a tetracycline-resistant plasmid.     

Penicillinase plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus: restriction-deletion maps.

The derivation of physical-genetic maps of two Staphylococcus aureus penicillinase plasmids—pI258 [28.2 kilobases (kb)] and pII147 (32.6 kb)—is described. The maps are based on data obtained by recombination, deletion, restriction endonuclease digestion, molecular cloning, and insertional inactivation. Evidence is presented for the existence of at least three separate operons transcribed in different directions. Data are presented to show that these plasmids are closely related physically as well as genetically to several others with which they can recombine. Physical mapping studies of one recombinant have helped to pinpoint structural differences between the two parental plasmids.     

Investigation of the Penicillinase Activity in L Colonies of Staphylococcus aureus

Penicillinase-producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus are transformed into stable L colonies by 70 to 100 subcultures on methicillin-containing medium with a suitable high osmolarity. During transformation, the penicillinase activity is lost. This loss in activity is not the result of only the penicillinase-negative mutants transforming to L colonies. If unstable L colonies are filtered through 0.45-mum membrane filters immediately after transformation, still no penicillinase activity is seen; this is also the case if the filtrated L colonies are reverted into coccal forms. The mechanism responsible for the loss of penicillinase activity is discussed. A loss of the penicillinase plasmid is proposed as the most reasonable explanation.     

Involvement of multiple genetic determinants in high-level methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

A methicillin-susceptible, novobiocin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus (RN2677; methicillin MIC, 0.8 micrograms/ml) was transformed with DNA prepared from highly and homogeneously methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains (methicillin MIC, greater than or equal to 400 micrograms/ml) or from heterogeneous strains in which the majority of cells had a low level of resistance (methicillin MIC, 6.3 micrograms/ml). All methicillin-resistant transformants showed low and heterogeneous resistance (methicillin MIC, 3.1 micrograms/ml) irrespective of the resistance level of DNA donors. All transformants examined produced normal amounts of the low-affinity penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2a, and methicillin resistance and the capacity to produce PBP 2a showed the same degree of genetic linkage to the novobiocin resistance marker with both homogeneous and heterogeneous DNA donors. Next, we isolated a methicillin-susceptible mutant from a highly and homogeneously resistant strain which had a Tn551 insertion near or within the PBP 2a gene and thus did not produce PBP 2a. With this mutant used as the recipient, genetic transformation of the methicillin resistance gene was repeated with DNA isolated either from highly and homogeneously resistant strains or from heterogeneous (low-resistance) strains. All transformants obtained expressed high and homogeneous resistance and produced PBP 2a irrespective of the resistance level of the DNA donors. Our findings suggest that (i) the methicillin resistance locus is identical to the structural gene for PBP 2a, (ii) although the ability to produce PBP 2a is essential for resistance, the MICs for the majority of cells are not related to the cellular concentration of PBP 2a, and (iii) high MICs and homogeneous expression of resistance require the products of other distinct genetic elements as well.     

Nature of the Elimination of the Penicillinase Plasmid from Staphylococcus aureus by Surface-Active Agents

Growth of Stapylococcus aureus in various ionic surface-active agents resulted in loss of the ability to produce penicillinase, whereas growth in nonionic surface-active agents had no effect on penicillinase production. The curing effect of various alkyl sulfates was found to be dependent upon the chain length. Curing by surface-active agents could be inhibited by magnesium. Reciprocal transduction experiments showed that curing by a surface-active agent was a property of the plasmid, not of the bacterial strain in which the plasmic resides.     

Phenotypic Suppression of Methicillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus by Mutant Noninducible Penicillinase Plasmids

Methicillin (intrinsic) resistance of Staphylococcus aureus was suppressed almost completely by regulatory gene (penI₁) mutations of penicillinase plasmids that made penicillinase production strictly noninducible. Methicillin resistance was restored by secondary regulatory gene mutations that altered the noninducible phenotype or by complementation with a compatible plasmid that did not bear the noninducible mutation. No evidence was obtained for genetic linkage between a penicillinase plasmid and the gene for methicillin resistance. We suggest, therefore, that the mutant noninducible repressor acted in trans by binding to a site on the methicillin resistance determinant. This hypothesis would imply an appreciable degree of homology between penicillinase plasmids and methicillin resistance genes.     

Transposition of penicillinase determinants in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract A methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) typical of those being isolated in Australian hospitals has been studied. It contains two plasmids, one of 1.4 megadalton (MDa) and one of 18 MDa. When selection is made for resistance to nucleic acid-binding (NAB) compounds in mixed-culture transfer, two types of transcipients are obtained; those containing an 18-MDa plasmid and resistant to NAB compounds, trimethoprim and aminoglycosides such as gentamicin and kanamycin and those having a 22 MDa plasmid and the additional phenotype of penicillinase production. The penicillinase determinants on the 22-MDa plasmid have been found to transpose to the chromosome and from the chromosome to an 18-MDa plasmid similar to that found in the original isolate. Restriction enzyme analysis has shown that a 7.3-kilobase pair (kb) element is involved. This has been designated Tn 3852 .     

Effects of the Recipient Strain and Ultraviolet Irradiation on Transduction Kinetics of the Penicillinase Plasmid of Staphylococcus aureus

When the penicillinase plasmid of Staphylococcus aureus PS 81(P(81))(T(81)) was transferred to its cured derivative of PS 81(N(P))(T(81)), there was a fivefold increase in the transduction frequency of penicillinase plasmid markers after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of the phage instead of the expected decrease typical for plasmid-borne markers. These results were independent of the transducing phage, the donor, and the method of curing the recipient and were also obtained with a cured derivative of PS 80(PI(80)). With PS 52, a naturally occurring penicillin-sensitive strain, and a cured transductant of PS 52 as the recipients, typical plasmid kinetics were observed. The plasmid location of penicillinase plasmid markers in transductants was confirmed by their instability in ethidium bromide (EB). In a cross between isogenic plasmids (PI(258)penZ cad x PI(258)penI asa ero), transductants were doubly selected for cadmium and erythromycin resistances. There was a twofold increase in transduction frequency after UV irradiation of the transducing phage and an increase in the proportion of recombinant type transductants. CsCl-EB density centrifugation revealed that plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was present in PS 81(P(81))(N(T)) and its cured derivative [PS 81(N(P))(N(T))], but not in PS 52. Sucrose gradient analysis of plasmid DNA showed that the penicillinase plasmid of PS 81(P(81))(N(T)) was larger than the plasmid in its cured derivative. Thus, the cured derivative contains plasmid DNA which appears to recombine with the incoming plasmid, causing the rise in transduction frequency noted after UV irradiation of transducing phage.     

Evidence for Genetic Interaction Between Plasmid and Chromosomal Penicillinase Linkage Groups in Staphylococcus aureus

Spontaneous reciprocal recombination was detected between the regulator genes of penicillinase plasmids and chromosomal penicillinase linkage groups of Staphylococcus aureus. The frequency of recombination varied with different penicillinase linkage groups.     

Relation Between Iron Uptake, pH of Growth Medium, and Penicillinase Formation in Staphylococcus aureus

The uptake of iron and the formation of penicillinase was examined in cultures of wild-type Staphylococcus aureus. Uptake of iron was about twice as great at pH 4.7 as at pH 7.4 At pH 4.7, increase in iron uptake in the range of 1.0 to 4.0 μg per mg of bacterial protein was associated with a progressive increase in the rate of penicillinase formation, but a direct correlation between cellular iron content and rate of enzyme formation was not demonstrated. Addition of iron to deferrated medium enhanced penicillinase formation at pH 6.5 to 7.4 two- to fourfold in cultures induced with benzylpenicillin and in uninduced cultures. To demonstrate an effect on the uninduced cells, it was necessary to increase iron uptake by preliminary incubation of cells with iron in buffer. Calcium and certain other ions depressed iron uptake at acidic and at neutral pH, and, presumably as a result of this action, depressed the formation of penicillinase. Iron did not enhance penicillinase formation at pH 4.7 by two penicillinase constitutive mutants nor by wild-type cells undergoing induction at pH 6.5 by cephalosporin C or methicillin. After removal of cephalosporin C or methicillin during an early phase of induction, residual synthesis of enzyme was increased by prior uptake of iron. The results are considered compatible with the concept that uptake of iron, especially at acidic pH, interferes with the formation or function of penicillinase repressor.     

Correlation between the rate of exoprotein synthesis and the amount of the multiprotein complex on membrane-bound ribosomes (MBRP-complex) in Staphylococcus aureus

The membrane-bound ribosome protein (MBRP)-complex of Staphylococcus aureus was studied using antibodies to its individual components. The four polypeptides of the complex were firmly held together, and none were present in large excess. The membrane-bound fraction of the MBRP-complex was accessible to trypsin only after removal of the membrane-bound ribosomes; it also remained associated with the membrane-bound ribosomes even after solubilization of the membranes with Triton X-100. Furthermore, the amount of MBRP-complex in the membrane was proportional to the rate of exoprotein synthesis. These results strongly suggest a role for the MBRP-complex in protein secretion.     

Transduction of plasmid determinants in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Buoyant density analysis of transducing lysates derived from Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli indicated that phage particles bearing plasmid determinants contain a quantity of DNA equivalent to that found in the lytic particles. Transducing particles that bear plasmid determinants smaller than viral DNA must therefore contain a quantity of DNA in excess of a single plasmid genome. In the E. coli P1vir system, a dependence upon host-mediated recombination for the transduction of small plasmids, but not for large R factors or chromosomal genes, was observed. However, no evidence for the involvement of such functions in the transduction of S. aureus plasmids was obtained. Although the origin of the additional DNA in plasmid transducing particles has not been identified, circumstantial evidence has been presented in the staphylococcal system indicating that transducing particles carrying a small tetracycline plasmid are not formed by the wrapping of multiple copies of this plasmid DNA.