This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sifaoui, F.
Right arrow Articles by Gutmann, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sifaoui, F.
Right arrow Articles by Gutmann, L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, September 2001, p. 2594-2597, Vol. 45, No. 9
0066-4804/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AAC.45.9.2594-2597.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Role of Penicillin-Binding Protein 5 in Expression of Ampicillin Resistance and Peptidoglycan Structure in Enterococcus faecium

Farid Sifaoui,1 Michel Arthur,1 Louis Rice,2 and Laurent Gutmann1,*

L.R.M.A., INSERM E0004, Université Paris VI, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France,1 and Medical and Research Services, Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio2

Received 20 February 2001/Returned for modification 25 April 2001/Accepted 6 June 2001

The contribution of penicillin-binding protein 5 (PBP 5) to intrinsic and acquired beta -lactam resistance was investigated by constructing isogenic strains of Enterococcus faecium producing different PBP 5. The pbp5 genes from three E. faecium clinical isolates (BM4107, D344, and H80721) were cloned into the shuttle vector pAT392 and introduced into E. faecium D344S, a spontaneous derivative of E. faecium D344 highly susceptible to ampicillin due to deletion of pbp5 (MIC, 0.03 µg/ml). Immunodetection of PBP5 indicated that cloning of the pbp5 genes into pAT392 resulted in moderate overproduction of PBP 5 in comparison to wild-type strains. This difference may be attributed to a difference in gene copy number. Expression of the pbp5 genes from BM4107 (MIC, 2 µg/ml), D344 (MIC, 24 µg/ml), and H80721 (MIC, 512 µg/ml) in D344S conferred relatively low levels of resistance to ampicillin (MICs, 6, 12, and 20 µg/ml, respectively). A methionine-to-alanine substitution was introduced at position 485 of the BM4107 PBP 5 by site-directed mutagenesis. In contrast to previous hypotheses based on comparison of nonisogenic strains, this substitution resulted in only a 2.5-fold increase in the ampicillin MIC. The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography muropeptide profiles of D344 and D344S were similar, indicating that deletion of pbp5 was not associated with a detectable defect in cell wall synthesis. These results indicate that pbp5 is a nonessential gene responsible for intrinsic resistance to moderate levels of ampicillin and by itself cannot confer high-level resistance.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: L.R.M.A./E0004, Université Paris VI, 15, rue de l'Ecole de Médecine, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France. Phone: 33-1-42.34.68.63. Fax: 33-1-43.25.68.12. E-mail: laurent.gutmann{at}ccr.jussieu.fr.


Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, September 2001, p. 2594-2597, Vol. 45, No. 9
0066-4804/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AAC.45.9.2594-2597.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Poeta, P., Costa, D., Igrejas, G., Saenz, Y., Zarazaga, M., Rodrigues, J., Torres, C. (2007). Polymorphisms of the pbp5 gene and correlation with ampicillin resistance in Enterococcus faecium isolates of animal origin. J Med Microbiol 56: 236-240 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Leimanis, S., Hoyez, N., Hubert, S., Laschet, M., Sauvage, E., Brasseur, R., Coyette, J. (2006). PBP5 Complementation of a PBP3 Deficiency in Enterococcus hirae.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 6298-6307 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nallapareddy, S. R., Singh, K. V., Murray, B. E. (2006). Construction of Improved Temperature-Sensitive and Mobilizable Vectors and Their Use for Constructing Mutations in the Adhesin-Encoding acm Gene of Poorly Transformable Clinical Enterococcus faecium Strains. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 334-345 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Arbeloa, A., Hugonnet, J.-E., Sentilhes, A.-C., Josseaume, N., Dubost, L., Monsempes, C., Blanot, D., Brouard, J.-P., Arthur, M. (2004). Synthesis of Mosaic Peptidoglycan Cross-bridges by Hybrid Peptidoglycan Assembly Pathways in Gram-positive Bacteria. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 41546-41556 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rice, L. B., Bellais, S., Carias, L. L., Hutton-Thomas, R., Bonomo, R. A., Caspers, P., Page, M. G. P., Gutmann, L. (2004). Impact of Specific pbp5 Mutations on Expression of {beta}-Lactam Resistance in Enterococcus faecium. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 3028-3032 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Arbeloa, A., Segal, H., Hugonnet, J.-E., Josseaume, N., Dubost, L., Brouard, J.-P., Gutmann, L., Mengin-Lecreulx, D., Arthur, M. (2004). Role of Class A Penicillin-Binding Proteins in PBP5-Mediated {beta}-Lactam Resistance in Enterococcus faecalis. J. Bacteriol. 186: 1221-1228 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mohn, S. C., Ulvik, A., Jureen, R., Willems, R. J. L., Top, J., Leavis, H., Harthug, S., Langeland, N. (2004). Duplex Real-Time PCR Assay for Rapid Detection of Ampicillin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 556-560 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Comenge, Y., Quintiliani, R. Jr., Li, L., Dubost, L., Brouard, J.-P., Hugonnet, J.-E., Arthur, M. (2003). The CroRS Two-Component Regulatory System Is Required for Intrinsic {beta}-Lactam Resistance in Enterococcus faecalis. J. Bacteriol. 185: 7184-7192 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sapunaric, F., Franssen, C., Stefanic, P., Amoroso, A., Dardenne, O., Coyette, J. (2003). Redefining the Role of psr in {beta}-Lactam Resistance and Cell Autolysis of Enterococcus hirae. J. Bacteriol. 185: 5925-5935 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jureen, R., Top, J., Mohn, S. C., Harthug, S., Langeland, N., Willems, R. J. L. (2003). Molecular Characterization of Ampicillin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolates from Hospitalized Patients in Norway. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 2330-2336 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rohrer, S., Berger-Bachi, B. (2003). FemABX Peptidyl Transferases: a Link between Branched-Chain Cell Wall Peptide Formation and {beta}-Lactam Resistance in Gram-Positive Cocci. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47: 837-846 [Full Text]  
  • Goffin, C., Ghuysen, J.-M. (2002). Biochemistry and Comparative Genomics of SxxK Superfamily Acyltransferases Offer a Clue to the Mycobacterial Paradox: Presence of Penicillin-Susceptible Target Proteins versus Lack of Efficiency of Penicillin as Therapeutic Agent. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 66: 702-738 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mainardi, J.-L., Morel, V., Fourgeaud, M., Cremniter, J., Blanot, D., Legrand, R., Frehel, C., Arthur, M., van Heijenoort, J., Gutmann, L. (2002). Balance between Two Transpeptidation Mechanisms Determines the Expression of beta -Lactam Resistance in Enterococcus faecium. J. Biol. Chem. 277: 35801-35807 [Abstract] [Full Text]