Silver accumulation and resistance in Pseudomonas stutzeri

Silver (Ag) resistance and accumulation were investigated in Ag-resistant Pseudomonas stutzeri strain AG259 and Ag-sensitive P. stutzeri strain JM303. Both strains exhibited a similar pattern of silver accumulation although to different final concentrations. Energy-dispersive X-ray analyses revealed the association of dense silver deposits with the Ag-resistant strain, but not the Ag-sensitive strain. Toluene permeabilization or incubation of cells at 2°C resulted in decreased Ag accumulation in both strains. This suggests that Ag accumulation may be energy dependent. A decrease in Ag accumulation was observed when cells were pretreated with 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP). No decrease was observed using carbonyl cyanide m-chlorphenyl-hydrazone (CCCP). However, it was observed that both 2,4-DNP and CCCP complexed to Ag, making interpretation of accumulation results difficult. Washing of cells incubated in the presence of Ag with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or hydrochloric acid did not result in decreased Ag accumulation.     

Gene recombination and segregation of resistance factor R in Escherichia coli

Hashimoto, Hajime (Osaka University, Osaka, Japan), and Yukinori Hirota. Gene recombination and segregation of resistance factor R in Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 91:51-62. 1966.-Independent chloramphenicol-sensitive (CM(s)) mutants of the drug-resistance factor R were isolated. Introduction of two different R factor CM(s) mutants into a single bacterium, by conjugation or transduction, gave chloramphenicol-resistant (CM(r)) colonies when such strains were plated on a medium containing chloramphenicol (Cm). These CM(r) colonies resulted from recombination between two R factors contained within the same cell. Most of the CM(r) colonies were heterogeneous, and segregation of drug-resistance markers was observed among the progeny. Segregated bacteria which still carried the recombinant R factor were stable for resistance to Cm as well as for other markers of R. All the markers of recombinant R factors were cotransducible with high coincidence and at the same frequency as wild-type R. Sensitive mutants of R which had lost all the resistance markers of the R factor were found also. A mutation of R, referred to as SMA, which was sensitive to streptomycin and sulfanilamide, was capable of reverting to resistance to both of these drugs simultaneously. The sensitive alleles for SMA, CM, and TC were shown to be recessive to the resistance alleles. Mutants of R having multisite mutations or deletions in the CM gene were isolated and used to analyze the pattern of linked segregation of unselected markers of the recombinant R factor. The drug resistance factor R was shown to have two linkage groups, CM-SMA and TC-m.     

Repetition of tetracycline resistance determinant genes on R plasmid pRSD1 in Escherichia coli.

Summary The 30 megadalton (Mdal)-conjgaative, fi^- plasmid pRSD1 determines inducible tetracycline resistance (Tc) in Escherichia coli. As shown by restriction analysis, a 3.5 Mdal-EcoRI fragment of pRSD1 spliced into the small plasmid pRSD2124 comprises the entire Tc determinant (tet) region. A restriction map of pRSD1 is presented which includes the location of the tet region and of an underwound loop not related to Tc (Burkardt et al., 1978). Selective amplification of tet genes is demonstrated by three lines of evidence. (i) The resistance level of cell harbouring pRSD1 increases approximately tenfold by induction with 10g/ml of tetracycline. Further groth in the presence of 100 g/ml of the drug (tet-racycline stress) selects for cells with even higher resistance levels (about 300 g/ml) in rec ⁺ cells. In a recA strain, a smaller proportion of cells attains these high resistance levels suggesting the involvement of host recombination. (ii) Electron micrographs of pRSD1-DNA isolated from tetracycline-stressed cells reveal a heterogeneous population of circular DNA molecules ranging between 1.7 and 21.6 m. The distribution of contour lengths shows a discrete pattern ascribed to the presence of autonomous single-and multiple-copy Tc determinants and to intact plasmids containing zero to six tet regions in tandem repeats. (iii) This interpretation is supported by heteroduplex and restriction analyses which demonstrate the presence of multiple copies of the 3.5 Mdal-element encompassing the tet region in pRSD1 molecules selected by tetracycline stress. It has been concluded that gene amplification leading to tandem repetition of the tet region ensues in pRSD1. Such plasmids confer increased tetracycline resistance and can, therefore, be selected by high doses of the drug.     

Drug resistance and R plasmids in Escherichia coli strains isolated from broilers

In 1978, 1,021 Escherichia coli strains were isolated from 105 field broilers (F) and 1,058 strains from 106 broilers in a zootechnical experiment station (Z), and their drug-resistance patterns and the presence of conjugative R plasmids were compared. The resistance markers examined were tetracycline (TC), chloramphenicol (CM), streptomycin (SM), sulfonamides (SA), kanamycin (KM), and ampicillin (APC). The populations of individuals that excreted resistant strains were 100% in F and 58% in Z. Frequencies of isolation of drug-resistant strains among the total isolates were 93% in F and 36% in Z, indicating that the resistant strains are a rather high proportion of the intestinal flora in F but are slightly less prevalent in Z. The resistance pattern to (TC.SM.SA.KM) was seen at the highest frequency in both groups. Conjugative R plasmids were demonstrated more frequently in field broilers (F). The results reflect the wide use of antibiotics in the livestock industry, resulting in the appearance of drug-resistant strains mostly due to the presence of R plasmids.     

R46 and pKM101 plasmid-mediated resistance to ionizing radiation in Escherichia coli

The ability of the R46 R factor and its derivative pKM101 to modify sensitivity to 60Co gamma radiation was studied. In Escherichia coli K12 both plasmids enhanced bacterial survival after 60Co gamma irradiation. This effect was dependent on recA+ genotype but not on recB+, recB+ recC+, and recF+ genotypes. 5-Fluorouracil eliminated the R46 R factor from the parent and its rec- mutant strains. These strains lost not only the antibiotic resistance coded for R46 R factor but their radioresistance as well.     

Mercury resistance and accumulation in Escherichia coli with cell surface expression of fish metallothionein

Recombinant tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) fish metallothionein (MT) was used as a surface biosorbent for mercury removal in Escherichia coli. Fish MT conferred better resistance than did mouse or human MT. When tilapia MT (tMT) was fused with an outer-membrane protein, outer membrane protein C (OmpC), the membrane-targeted fusion protein, OmpC–tMT, gave enhanced resistance compared with cytoplasmic tMT expressed in the same host cell. The cytoplasmically expressed tMT showed high mercury adsorption (4.3 ± 0.4 mg/g cell dry weight). The cell surface that expressed E. coli showed about 25% higher adsorption ability (5.6 ± 0.4 mg/g) than the cells expressing cytoplasmic MT, attaining almost twice the level of adsorption of the control plasmid (3.0 ± 0.4 mg/g). As MTs are also known for their ability to scavenge hydroxyl-free radicals, it was also shown that tMT exhibited better radical-scavenging activities than glutathione. These results suggest that fish MT has potential for the development of a bioremediation system for mercury removal that protects the harboring E. coli host by free-radical scavenging.     

Vinylglycolate resistance in Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli K-12 vinylglycolate-resistant mutants have been isolated and characterized. Two of the mutants, JSH 150 and JSH 151, have been determined to be double mutants, lacking both membrane-bound L-and D-lactate dehydrogenases. The lactate transport system is intact in all strains; both radioactive lactate and vinylglycolate are actively taken up. Likewise, the phosphoenolypyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system for hexose uptake is active. Vinylglycolate, previously shown to inhibit the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system, has very little effect in the double mutants. The extent of vinylglycolate inhibition in other mutants seems directly related to the activity of the lactate dehydrogenases. This indicates that vinylglycolate is oxidized to 2-keto-3-butenoate before inactivating the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. These results were found in whole cells and confirmed in isolated membrane vesicles.     

The copper-dependent accumulation of magnesium in Escherichia coli

Cu2(+)-induced accumulation of Mg ions by E. coli cells has been studied. The accumulation was demonstrated to take place only when the cell had endogenous energetic resources. The data obtained and their correlation with the data on Cu2+ binding by bacterial cells and Cu2(+)-dependent streptomycin accumulation allowed to conclude that copper induced nonspecific potential-dependent influx of cations into cells.     

Active accumulation of tetracycline by Escherichia coli

1. At low concentrations of tetracycline (10mug/ml) net accumulation of the drug by Escherichia coli cells ceased after 7-10min. 2. At higher concentrations of tetracycline (>30mug/ml) the period of net accumulation of the drug was significantly extended. 3. The efflux of tetracycline from E. coli cells transferred from medium containing 10mug of tetracycline/ml to drug-free medium was a rapid temperature-dependent process and was accelerated by 2,4-dinitrophenol. 4. As the concentration of tetracycline in the preloading phase was increased, the rate of subsequent efflux of the drug progressively declined. The efflux of drug from cells preloaded in medium containing 200mug of tetracycline/ml was negligible, although efflux was readily provoked by 2,4-dinitrophenol, by N-ethylmaleimide or by omission of glucose from the medium. 5. The initial rate of uptake of tetracycline by E. coli cells was linearly proportional to the concentration of tetracycline in the medium up to the maximum concentration of drug obtainable under the experimental conditions used (400mug/ml, 0.83mm). 6. Although N-ethylmaleimide strongly inhibited the accumulation of tetracycline by E. coli, no evidence was obtained for the direct involvement of thiol groups in the transport process. It was concluded that N-ethylmaleimide inhibited accumulation by interruption of the energy supply of the cells. 7. Osmotic shock of E. coli cells did not significantly affect the influx of tetracycline, but promoted both efflux of tetracycline and cell lysis in cells treated with a high concentration of tetracycline. 8. A study of the distribution of tetracycline among the subcellular fractions of penicillin-induced spheroplasts preincubated with various concentrations of tetracycline indicated that 60-70% of the accumulated tetracycline was in the high-speed supernatant fraction. Sephadex chromatography showed that the tetracycline of this fraction was present as the free drug. Sephadex chromatography of a detergent extract of the membrane fraction, however, indicated that a significant proportion of the tetracycline radioactivity of this fraction was apparently bound to some macromolecular component. 9. Cellulose phosphate paper chromatography of cold-acid extracts of spheroplasts preloaded with tetracycline indicated that the accumulated drug was chemically unchanged. 10. Membrane preparations isolated from osmotically lysed penicillin-induced spheroplasts showed a temperature-dependent binding of tetracycline that was not energy-dependent and was not inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide. The binding process was stimulated by omitting Mg(2+) from the medium, but conversely was profoundly inhibited by EDTA. 11. The relevance of these findings to the probable mechanism of active tetracycline accumulation by E. coli is discussed.     

产超广谱β-内酰胺酶大肠埃希菌Ⅰ类整合子检测与耐药性关系

目的了解I类整合子在产ESBLs和非产ESBLs大肠埃希菌中分布状况,分析I类整合子在细菌多重耐药中的作用。方法用PCR方法扩增I类整合酶基因,经电泳后检测扩增产物。用2χ检验进行统计学分析,P<0.05为差异有显著性。结果105株大肠埃希菌检出I类整合子46株,检出率为43.8%。I类整合子在产ESBLs菌的检出率为53.4%,明显高于非产ESBLs菌(31.9%),2χ检验,P<0.01。I类整合子阳性菌株多重耐药率为68.8%(33/48),明显高于阴性菌株(33.3%),P<0.05。I类整合子阳性菌株和产ESBLs菌均对青霉素类、喹诺酮类、磺胺类抗生素表现出较高的耐药率。所有菌株均对亚胺培南敏感。结论I类整合子携带与产ESBLs菌株耐药有关,I类整合子阳性菌株对多种抗生素的耐药率大于整合子阴性菌株。     

Effects of Halides on Plasmid-Mediated Silver Resistance in Escherichia coli

Silver resistance of sensitive Escherichia coli J53 and resistance plasmid-containing J53(pMG101) was affected by halides in the growth medium. The effects of halides on Ag⁺ resistance were measured with AgNO₃ and silver sulfadiazine, both on agar and in liquid. Low concentrations of chloride made the differences in MICs between sensitive and resistant strains larger. High concentrations of halides increased the sensitivities of both strains to Ag⁺.