Premium
Functional characterization and phylogenetic analysis of acquired and intrinsic macrolide phosphotransferases in the B acillus cereus group
Author(s) -
Wang Chao,
Sui Zhihai,
Leclercq Sébastien Olivier,
Zhang Gang,
Zhao Meilin,
Chen Weiqi,
Feng Jie
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12578
Subject(s) - biology , cereus , bacillus cereus , gene cluster , genetics , gene , phylogenetic tree , plasmid , microbiology and biotechnology , phylogenetics , bacteria
Summary The B acillus cereus group is composed of G ram‐positive spore‐forming bacteria of clinical and ecological importance. More than 200 B . cereus group isolates have been sequenced. However, there are few reports of B . cereus group antibiotic resistance genes. This study identified two functional classes of macrolide phosphotransferases ( M phs) in the B . cereus group. C luster A Mphs inactivate 14‐ and 15‐membered macrolides while C luster B M phs inactivate 14‐, 15‐ and 16‐membered compounds. The genomic region surrounding the C luster B M ph gene is related to various plasmid sequences, suggesting that this gene is an acquired resistance gene. I n contrast, the C luster A M ph gene is located in a chromosomal region conserved among all B . cereus group isolates, and data indicated that it was acquired early in the evolution of the group. Therefore, the C luster A gene can be considered an intrinsic resistance gene. However, the gene itself is not present in all strains and our comparative genomics analyses showed that it is exchanged among strains of the B . cereus group by the mean of homologous recombination. These results provide an alternative mechanism to intrinsic resistance.