title: Macrolide resistance determinants in erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Turkey.
abstract: To determine the major molecular mechanisms of macrolide resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in Turkey, we examined a total of 151 isolates collected from different regions of Turkey. Overall, 40 (26.4%) isolates were resistant to erythromycin. The most common mechanism (38/40) was target site modification due to erm (B) genes. Only two isolates harbored the mef (A)/(E) efflux gene. A clonal spread of resistant strains could not be demonstrated by BOX-polymerase chain reaction. The results from this study have shown that the erm (B) gene is predominant in Turkish S. pneumoniae isolates, as in isolates from the rest of the world, and a clonal dissemination is not responsible for this resistance profile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey. zeynepgulay62@gmail.com
authors.forename: Zeynep
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gulay
authors.forename: Ozgen Alpay
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Ozbek
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bicmen
authors.forename: Deniz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gur
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010802:Phylogeny; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018942:Macrolides; C117866:MefA protein, Streptococcus; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D004917:Erythromycin; D008780:Methyltransferases