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. 2002 Feb;46(2):511-3.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.46.2.511-513.2002.

Molecular analysis of rifampin resistance in Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus

Amy J Vogler  1 , Joseph D Busch, Stephanie Percy-Fine, Christine Tipton-Hunton, Kimothy L Smith, Paul Keim
Affiliations

Molecular analysis of rifampin resistance in Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus

Amy J Vogler et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2002 Feb.

Abstract

Rifampin-resistant mutants were selected from UV-light-treated Bacillus cereus (20 mutants) and attenuated B. anthracis (23 mutants). In addition, spontaneous rifampin-resistant mutants were also isolated in attenuated B. anthracis (22 mutants). The rifampin resistance clusters of the rpoB gene were sequenced for all 65 mutants. Mutations associated with resistance were consistent with those from other bacteria, though two novel changes were observed. The spontaneous rate of resistance was estimated at 1.57 x 10(-9) mutations/generation by a Luria-Delbrück fluctuation test.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
RIF resistance mutations in the rpoB cluster I. Mutations from B. subtilis (7), E. coli, and M. tuberculosis (2) have been previously reported. Amino acid substitutions occurring in B. anthracis (red), B. cereus (blue), B. subtilis (green), E. coli (purple), and M. tuberculosis (light blue) are indicated. Deletions conferring RIF resistance are boxed and connected by a line to any change in amino acids (e.g., V in E. coli). A large arrow indicates one insertion (DQ) conferring RIF resistance found in E. coli. Ten of the twelve amino acid positions that interact directly with RIF are shaded in gray (2).
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
RIF resistance mutation frequency. The frequency data for UV-generated RIF-R B. anthracis mutants (black bars), spontaneous RIF-R B. anthracis mutants (striped bars), and UV-generated RIF-R B. cereus mutants (gray bars) are shown.
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