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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, March 2003, p. 878-882, Vol. 47, No. 3
0066-4804/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.47.3.878-882.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Prevalence of Tetracycline Resistance Genes in Oral Bacteria

A. Villedieu,1 M. L. Diaz-Torres,1 N. Hunt,2 R. McNab,3 D. A. Spratt,1 M. Wilson,1 and P. Mullany1*

Eastman Dental Institute, Department of Microbiology,1 Department of Orthodontic, University College London, London,2 GlaxoSmithline, Oral Healthcare, Weybridge, United Kingdom3

Received 18 July 2002/ Returned for modification 28 October 2002/ Accepted 8 December 2002

Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used in humans, animals, and aquaculture; therefore, many bacteria from different ecosystems are exposed to this antibiotic. In order to determine the genetic basis for resistance to tetracycline in bacteria from the oral cavity, saliva and dental plaque samples were obtained from 20 healthy adults who had not taken antibiotics during the previous 3 months. The samples were screened for the presence of bacteria resistant to tetracycline, and the tetracycline resistance genes in these isolates were identified by multiplex PCR and DNA sequencing. Tetracycline-resistant bacteria constituted an average of 11% of the total cultivable oral microflora. A representative 105 tetracycline-resistant isolates from the 20 samples were investigated; most of the isolates carried tetracycline resistance genes encoding a ribosomal protection protein. The most common tet gene identified was tet(M), which was found in 79% of all the isolates. The second most common gene identified was tet(W), which was found in 21% of all the isolates, followed by tet(O) and tet(Q) (10.5 and 9.5% of the isolates, respectively) and then tet(S) (2.8% of the isolates). Tetracycline resistance genes encoding an efflux protein were detected in 4.8% of all the tetracycline-resistant isolates; 2.8% of the isolates had tet(L) and 1% carried tet(A) and tet(K) each. The results have shown that a variety of tetracycline resistance genes are present in the oral microflora of healthy adults. This is the first report of tet(W) in oral bacteria and the first report to show that tet(O), tet(Q), tet(A), and tet(S) can be found in some oral species.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology Department, Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Rd., London WC1X 8LD, United Kingdom. Phone: 020 7915 1223. Fax: 020 7915 1127. E-mail: p.mullany{at}eastman.ucl.ac.uk.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, March 2003, p. 878-882, Vol. 47, No. 3
0066-4804/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.47.3.878-882.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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