Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Sep;48(9):3462-7.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.48.9.3462-3467.2004.

Molecular basis of resistance to macrolides and other antibiotics in commensal viridans group streptococci and Gemella spp. and transfer of resistance genes to Streptococcus pneumoniae

Paula Cerdá Zolezzi  1 , Leticia Millán Laplana, Carmen Rubio Calvo, Pilar Goñi Cepero, Melisa Canales Erazo, Rafael Gómez-Lus
Affiliations

Molecular basis of resistance to macrolides and other antibiotics in commensal viridans group streptococci and Gemella spp. and transfer of resistance genes to Streptococcus pneumoniae

Paula Cerdá Zolezzi et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2004 Sep.

Abstract

We assessed the mechanisms of resistance to macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLS(B)) antibiotics and related antibiotics in erythromycin-resistant viridans group streptococci (n = 164) and Gemella spp. (n = 28). The macrolide resistance phenotype was predominant (59.38%); all isolates with this phenotype carried the mef(A) or mef(E) gene, with mef(E) being predominant (95.36%). The erm(B) gene was always detected in strains with constitutive and inducible MLS(B) resistance and was combined with the mef(A/E) gene in 47.44% of isolates. None of the isolates carried the erm(A) subclass erm(TR), erm(A), or erm(C) genes. The mel gene was detected in all but four strains carrying the mef(A/E) gene. The tet(M) gene was found in 86.90% of tetracycline-resistant isolates and was strongly associated with the presence of the erm(B) gene. The cat(pC194) gene was detected in seven chloramphenicol-resistant Streptococcus mitis isolates, and the aph(3')-III gene was detected in four viridans group streptococcal isolates with high-level kanamycin resistance. The intTn gene was found in all isolates with the erm(B), tet(M), aph(3')-III, and cat(pC194) gene. The mef(E) and mel genes were successfully transferred from both groups of bacteria to Streptococcus pneumoniae R6 by transformation. Viridans group streptococci and Gemella spp. seem to be important reservoirs of resistance genes.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aracil, B., M. Miñambres, J. Oteo, C. Torres, J. L. Gómez-Garcés, and J. I. Alós. 2001. High prevalence of erythromycin-resistant and clindamycin-susceptible (M phenotype) viridans group streptococci from pharyngeal samples: a reservoir of mef genes in commensal bacteria. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 48:592-594. - PubMed
    1. Arpin, C., M. H. Canron, J. Maugein, and C. Quentin. 1999. Incidence of mefA and mefE genes in viridans group streptococci. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 43:2335-2336. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ausubel, I., and M. Frederick. 1993. Preparation and analysis of DNA, p 2.1-2.12. In F. M. Ausubel, R. Brent, R. E. Kingston, D. D. Moore, J. G. Seidman, J. A. Smith, and K. Struhl (ed.), Currents protocols in molecular biology. John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y.
    1. Bryskier, A. 2002. Viridans group streptococci: a reservoir of resistant bacteria in oral cavities. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 8:65-69. - PubMed
    1. Clancy, J., J. Petitpas, F. Did-Hajj, W. Yuan, M. Cronan, A. V. Kamath, J. Bergeron, and J. A. Retsema. 1996. Molecular cloning and functional analysis of a novel macrolide-resistance determinant, mefA, from Streptococcus pyogenes. Mol. Microbiol. 22:867-879. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms