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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2002, p. 1281-1287, Vol. 46, No. 5
0066-4804/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.46.5.1281-1287.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Widespread Distribution of a Tet W Determinant among Tetracycline-Resistant Isolates of the Animal Pathogen Arcanobacterium pyogenes

Stephen J. Billington,* J. Glenn Songer, and B. Helen Jost

Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721

Received 8 August 2001/ Returned for modification 9 August 2001/ Accepted 8 February 2002

Tetracycline resistance is common among isolates of the animal commensal and opportunistic pathogen Arcanobacterium pyogenes. The tetracycline resistance determinant cloned from two bovine isolates of A. pyogenes was highly similar at the DNA level (92% identity) to the tet(W) gene, encoding a ribosomal protection tetracycline resistance protein, from the rumen bacterium Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens. The tet(W) gene was found in all 20 tetracycline-resistant isolates tested, indicating that it is a widely distributed determinant of tetracycline resistance in this organism. In 25% of tetracycline-resistant isolates, the tet(W) gene was associated with a mob gene, encoding a functional mobilization protein, and an origin of transfer, suggesting that the determinant may be transferable to other bacteria. In fact, low-frequency transfer of tet(W) was detected from mob+ A. pyogenes isolates to a tetracycline-sensitive A. pyogenes recipient. The mobile nature of this determinant and the presence of A. pyogenes in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle and pigs suggest that A. pyogenes may have inherited this determinant within the gastrointestinal tracts of these animals.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology, The University of Arizona, 1117 East Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721. Phone: (520) 621-2745. Fax: (520) 621-6366. E-mail: sbilling{at}u.arizona.edu.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2002, p. 1281-1287, Vol. 46, No. 5
0066-4804/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.46.5.1281-1287.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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