Arr-cb Is a Rifampin Resistance Determinant Found Active or Cryptic in Clostridiumbolteae Strains

Clostridium bolteae , which belongs to theClostridium clostridioforme complex, is a member of the human gut microbiota. Recent analysis of seven genomes ofC .bolteae revealed the presence of anarr -like gene. Among these strains, only 90A7 was found to be resistant to rifampin in the absence of alteration of RpoB. Cloning ofarr-cb from 90A7 inEscherichia coli combined with directed mutagenesis demonstrated that Arr-cb was functional but that a Q127→R variant present in 90A9 and 90B3 was inactive. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis indicated thatarr-cb was silent in the four remaining strains because of defective transcription. Thus, two independent mechanisms can make the probably intrinsicarr-cb gene ofC .bolteae cryptic.