Prevalence of 16S rRNA methylase genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from a Chinese teaching hospital: coexistence of rmtB and armA genes in the same isolate.
16S rRNA methylase-mediated high-level resistance to aminoglycosides has been reported recently in clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacilli from several countries. Twenty-one (6.2%, 21/337) of 337 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from a teaching hospital in Wenzhou, China, were positive for 16S rRNA methylase genes (3 for armA, 13 for rmtB, 5 for both armA and rmtB) and highly resistant to gentamicin, amikacin, and tobramycin (MICs, > or =256 microg/mL). Nineteen of 21 isolates harboring 16S rRNA methyalse genes were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers. The plasmids harboring 16S rRNA methylase genes from 14 of 21 donors were transferred into the recipients, Escherichia coli J53. The armA and the rmtB usually coexisted with ESBL genes in the same isolate in clinical isolates and cotransferred with ESBL genes on a self-transmissible conjugative plasmid to the recipients. Among 5 isolates harboring both armA and rmtB, the armA genes were located on the chromosomes, and the rmtB genes were located on the plasmids, as determined by Southern hybridization. The result of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that horizontal gene transfer and clonal spread were responsible for the dissemination of the rmtB and the armA genes. 16S rRNA methylase-producing isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were commonly identified in the Chinese teaching hospital with coexistence of rmtB and armA genes in the same isolate.
Yu
Fangyou
F
Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of Ministries of Education and Health, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Medical Microbiology, Shanghai Medical School of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. wzjxyfy@163.com
Wang
Liangxing
L
Pan
Jingye
J
Yao
Dan
D
Chen
Chan
C
Zhu
Tao
T
Lou
Qiang
Q
Hu
Jian
J
Wu
Yang
Y
Zhang
Xueqing
X
Chen
Zengqiang
Z
Qu
Di
D
D000617:Aminoglycosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002681:China; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D011815:R Factors
D000617:Aminoglycosides; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008780:Methyltransferases; C035181:rRNA (adenosine-O-2'-)methyltransferase