Open AccessTransfer of a mobile Staphylococcus saprophyticus plasmid isolated from fermented seafood that confers tetracycline resistance
Author(s) -
Jong Hoon Lee,
Seongkook Heo,
Miran Jeong,
DoWon Jeong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0213289
Subject(s) - plasmid , tetracycline , biology , enterococcus faecalis , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , horizontal gene transfer , rolling circle replication , staphylococcus saprophyticus , genetics , mobile genetic elements , staphylococcus aureus , staphylococcus , escherichia coli , bacteria , dna replication , antibiotics , phylogenetics
The complete nucleotide sequence of a tetracycline-resistance gene ( tetK )-carrying plasmid from a Staphylococcus saprophyticus isolate from jeotgal, a Korean high-salt-fermented seafood, was determined. The plasmid, designated pSSTET1, was 4439 bp in length and encoded typical elements found in plasmids that replicate via a rolling-circle mechanism, including the replication protein gene ( rep ), a double-stranded origin of replication, a single-stranded origin of replication, and a counter-transcribed RNA sequence. Additionally, the plasmid recombination enzyme gene ( pre ), which may be involved in inter-plasmid recombination and conjugation, was found. Each gene exhibited >94% sequence identity with those harbored in other Staphylococcus species. pSSTET1 was conditionally transferred to Staphylococcus species in a host-dependent manner and transferred to an Enterococcus faecalis strain in vitro . Antibiotic susceptibility of the transconjugants was host-dependent and transconjugants maintained a tetracycline-resistant phenotype in the absence of selective pressure over 100 generations.