Open AccessMolecular characterization of bla IMP‐5 , a new integron‐borne metallo‐β‐lactamase gene from an Acinetobacter baumannii nosocomial isolate in Portugal
Author(s) -
Silva Gabriela J.,
Correia Mário,
Vital Clementina,
Ribeiro Graça,
Sousa João C.,
Leitão Rui,
Peixe Luísa,
Duarte Aida
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2002.tb11366.x
Subject(s) - integron , acinetobacter baumannii , imipenem , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , aztreonam , cefepime , ceftazidime , cefpirome , sulbactam , ampicillin , cephalosporin , genetics , antibiotics , antibiotic resistance , bacteria , pseudomonas aeruginosa
Abstract Acinetobacter baumannii 65FFC, an imipenem‐resistant clinical strain, isolated from the urine of a patient at the Coimbra University Hospital, Portugal, in 1998, produced a metallo‐β‐lactamase with a calculated pI 9.3. The isolate was highly resistant to penicillins, broad‐spectrum cephalosporins, including ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefepime, cefpirome, and to aztreonam, but it remained susceptible to ampicillin/sulbactam, aminoglycosides and quinolones. Nucleotide sequence revealed a new allelic variant of other bla IMP genes, named bla IMP‐5 . IMP‐5 β‐lactamase showed a greater homology with IMP‐1, IMP‐3 and IMP‐4 (identified in Southeast Asia), than with IMP‐2, found in Italy (93%, 92%, 91% and 87% of amino acid identity, respectively). bla IMP‐5 was the only gene cassette inserted into a class 1 integron, named In76. This is the first IMP‐enzyme reported in Portugal and the second in Europe, indicating a wider dissemination in the environment of bla IMP alleles.