title: The diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes among staphylococci of animal origin.
abstract: Staphylococci of animal origin harbor a wide variety of resistance genes. So far, more than 40 different resistance genes have been identified in staphylococci from animals. This includes genes that confer resistance to virtually all classes of antimicrobial agents approved for use in animals, such as penicillins, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamides, phenicols, aminoglycosides, aminocyclitols, pleuromutilins, and diaminopyrimidines. The gene products of some of these resistance genes confer resistance to only specific members of a class of antimicrobial agents, whereas others confer resistance to the entire class or even to members of different classes of antimicrobial agents. The resistance mechanisms specified by the resistance genes fall into three major categories: (i) enzymatic inactivation, (ii) active efflux, or (iii) protection/modification/replacement of the cellular target sites of the antimicrobial agents. Mobile genetic elements, in particular plasmids and transposons, play a major role as carriers of antimicrobial resistance genes in animal staphylococci. They facilitate the exchange of resistance genes with staphylococci of human origin but also with other Gram-positive bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut FLI, Neustadt-Mariensee, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wendlandt
authors.forename: Andrea T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Feßler
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monecke
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ehricht
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kadlec
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D014644:Genetic Variation; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Horizontal gene transfer; Integration; Mobile genetic elements; Plasmids; Recombination