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A frameshift mutation in the rRNA large subunit methyltransferase gene rlmA II determines the susceptibility of a honey bee pathogen Melissococcus plutonius to mirosamicin
Author(s) -
Takamatsu Daisuke,
Yoshida Emi,
Watando Eri,
Ueno Yuichi,
Kusumoto Masahiro,
Okura Masatoshi,
Osaki Makoto,
Katsuda Ken
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1111/1462-2920.14365
Subject(s) - biology , mycoplasma mycoides , american foulbrood , tylosin , microbiology and biotechnology , 23s ribosomal rna , ribosomal rna , gene , genetics , bacteria , mycoplasma , antibiotics , rna , ribosome
Summary American foulbrood (AFB) and European foulbrood (EFB) caused by Paenibacillus larvae and Melissococcus plutonius , respectively, are major bacterial infections of honey bees. Although macrolides (mirosamicin [MRM] and tylosin) have been used to prevent AFB in Japan, macrolide‐resistant P. larvae have yet to be found. In this study, we revealed that both MRM‐resistant and ‐susceptible strains exist in Japanese M. plutonius and that a methyltransferase gene ( rlmA II ) was disrupted exclusively in MRM‐susceptible strains due to a single‐nucleotide insertion. The M. plutonius RlmA II modified G748 of 23S rRNA, and the deletion of rlmA II resulted in increased susceptibility to MRM and the loss of modification at G748, suggesting that methylation at G748 by RlmA II confers MRM resistance in M. plutonius . The single‐nucleotide mutation in MRM‐susceptible strains was easily repaired by spontaneous deletion of the inserted nucleotide; however, intact rlmA II was only found in Japanese M. plutonius and not in a Paraguayan strain tested or any of the whole‐genome‐sequenced European strains. MRM has been used in apiculture only in Japan. Although M. plutonius is not the target of this drug, the use of MRM as a prophylactic drug for AFB may have influenced the antibiotic susceptibility of the causative agent of EFB.