Identification of the novel narrow-spectrum beta-lactamase SCO-1 in Acinetobacter spp. from Argentina.
By studying the beta-lactamase content of several Acinetobacter spp. isolates from Argentina, producing the expanded-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) VEB-1a or PER-2, a novel Ambler class A beta-lactamase gene was identified. It encoded the narrow-spectrum beta-lactamase SCO-1, whose activity was inhibited by clavulanic acid. SCO-1 hydrolyzes penicillins at a high level and cephalosporins and carbapenems at a very low level. beta-Lactamase SCO-1 was identified from unrelated VEB-1a-positive or PER-2-positive Acinetobacter spp. isolates recovered from three hospitals. The bla(SCO-1) gene was apparently located on a plasmid of ca. 150 kb from all cases but was not associated with any ESBL-encoding gene. The G+C content of the bla(SCO) gene was 52%, a value that does not correspond to that of the A. baumannii genome (39%). beta-Lactamase SCO-1 shares 47% amino acid identity with CARB-5 and ca. 40% with the enzymes TEM, SHV, and CTX-M. A gene encoding a putative resolvase was identified downstream of the bla(SCO-1) gene, but its precise way of acquisition remains to be determined.
Poirel
Laurent
L
Service de Bactériologie-Virologie, Hôpital de Bicêtre, 78 rue du Général Leclerc, 94275 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre cedex, France.
Corvec
Stéphane
S
Rapoport
Melina
M
Mugnier
Pauline
P
Petroni
Alejandro
A
Pasteran
Fernando
F
Faccone
Diego
D
Galas
Marcelo
M
Drugeon
Henri
H
Cattoir
Vincent
V
Nordmann
Patrice
P
D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001118:Argentina; D019818:Clavulanic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D047090:beta-Lactams / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D047090:beta-Lactams; D019818:Clavulanic Acid; D001618:beta-Lactamases