title: Molecular characterization of a small Haemophilus influenzae plasmid specifying beta-lactamase and its relationship to R factors from Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
abstract: The ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae strain Ve445 which caused purulent meningitis and septicaemia in a newborn child in Germany contained a 4.4 megadalton (Mdal) plasmid (pVe445) and produced a TEM type beta-lactamase. The transformation to ampicillin resistance of a sensitive Escherichia coli strain with isolated pVe445 DNA proved that the structural gene for the beta-lactamase resided on this plasmid genome. Molecular DNA-DNA hybridization studies and electron microscope DNA heteroduplex analysis indicated that pVe445 probably contained 38 to 41% of the ampicillin translocation DNA segment (TnA) found on R factors of enteric origin. The TnA fragment present in pVe445 most likely does not contain both of the inverted repeat sequences of TnA. DNA-DNA polynucleotide sequence studies indicated that the 4.4 Mdal plasmid pVe445 was unrelated to the 30 to 38 Mdal H. influenzae R plasmids but was closely related to the 4.1 Mdal ampicillin resistance specifying H. influenzae plasmid RSF0885 isolated in the U.S.A. The H. influenzae plasmid pVe445 shared 91% of its base sequences with the beta-lactamase specifying Neisseria gonorrhoeae plasmid pMR0360 (4.4 Mdal) and had 85% of its base sequences in common with the beta-lactamase specifying N. gonorrhoeae plasmid pMR0200 (3.2 Mdal). All of the four 3.2 to 4.4 Mdal beta-lactamase specifying R plasmids of H. influenzae and N. gonorrhoeae investigated probably have a common evolutionary origin.
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics*; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D011815:R Factors; D014170:Transformation, Genetic; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D000667:Ampicillin; D001618:beta-Lactamases