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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2008, p. 1285-1290, Vol. 52, No. 4
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01457-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

erm(B)-Carrying Elements in Tetracycline-Resistant Pneumococci and Correspondence between Tn1545 and Tn6003{triangledown}

Ileana Cochetti, Emily Tili, Marina Mingoia, Pietro E. Varaldo, and Maria Pia Montanari*

Institute of Microbiology and Biomedical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche Medical School, 60020 Ancona, Italy

Received 9 November 2007/ Returned for modification 7 January 2008/ Accepted 6 February 2008

This study investigated the genetic organization of erm(B)-carrying transposons of Streptococcus pneumoniae and their distribution in tetracycline-resistant clinical isolates. By comparatively analyzing reference pneumococci carrying erm(B)/tet(M) transposon Tn1545, Tn6003, Tn6002, or Tn3872, we demonstrated a substantial correspondence between Tn1545 and Tn6003, which have the same resistance gene combination [tet(M) (tetracycline), erm(B) (erythromycin), and aphA-3 (kanamycin)]; share the macrolide-aminoglycoside-streptothricin element, containing a second erm(B); and only differ by a ca. 1.2-kb insertion (containing a putative IS1239 insertion sequence) detected in Tn1545 from S. pneumoniae reference strain BM4200. These results enabled elucidation of the structure of Tn1545, the first erm(B)-carrying transposon described in S. pneumoniae. A collection of 83 erythromycin- and tetracycline-resistant clinical pneumococci, representative of recent Italian isolates carrying erm(B) as the sole erythromycin resistance gene, was used to investigate the distribution of the different transposons. All 83 organisms were positive for tet(M) and bore an erm(B)/tet(M) transposon that could be characterized by using a specific set of primer pairs; Tn3872 was detected in 18 isolates, Tn6002 in 59 isolates, and Tn6003 in 6 (the sole kanamycin-resistant) isolates. The genetic organization of transposon Tn1545, with its specific insertion, was not detected in any of the isolates tested. The erm(B)-carrying elements of tetracycline-resistant pneumococci substantially corresponded to those [bearing a silent tet(M) gene] recently detected in tetracycline-susceptible pneumococci. Overall, in erm(B)-positive pneumococci, Tn6003 was the least common erm(B)-carrying Tn916-related element and Tn6002 the most common.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Microbiology and Biomedical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche Medical School, Via Tronto 10/A, 60020 Ancona, Italy. Phone: 39 071 2206295. Fax: 39 071 2206293. E-mail: mp.montanari{at}univpm.it

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 19 February 2008.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2008, p. 1285-1290, Vol. 52, No. 4
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01457-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Varaldo, P. E., Montanari, M. P., Giovanetti, E. (2009). Genetic Elements Responsible for Erythromycin Resistance in Streptococci. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 53: 343-353 [Full Text]  
  • Soge, O. O., Beck, N. K., White, T. M., No, D. B., Roberts, M. C. (2008). A novel transposon, Tn6009, composed of a Tn916 element linked with a Staphylococcus aureus mer operon. J Antimicrob Chemother 62: 674-680 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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