The mobile dso-gene-sso element in rolling circles plasmids of staphylococci reflects the evolutionary history of its resistance gene
Investigation article published in Letters in Applied Microbiology
September 1st, 2017
The qacC and lnuA genes of Staphylococcus species were recently proposed to comprise a mobile element when residing on rolling-circle plasmids. Here we present other examples of resistance genes on staphylococcal rolling-circle plasmids, including fosB producing resistance to fosfomycin, cat resulting in resistance to chloramphenicol, and cadB for resistance to the toxic heavy metal cadmium. For three of these genes (qacC, lnuA and fosB) evidence was obtained that the genes have spread between different plasmid backgrounds. The lack of mutations in qacC suggests that the spread occurred relatively recently, while the build up of mutations in lnuA and fosB suggests their mobilization occurred in the more distant past. These observations can be explained by the use of the respective antibiotics over time. However, the cat and cadB genes sequenced analysed had not collected any mutations, an observation that is not completely understood but possible explanations are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Wassenaar TM. and Cabal A.
| Molecular Microbiology and Genomics Consultants. | |
 | Servicio de Zoonosis de Transmisión Alimentaria y Resistencia a Antimicrobianos (ZTA). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
