title: The incC Sequence Is Required for R27 Plasmid Stability.
abstract: IncHI plasmids account for multiple antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella and other enterobacterial genera. These plasmids are generally very stable in their bacterial hosts. R27 is the archetype of IncHI1 plasmids. A high percentage of the R27-encoded open reading frames (ORFs) (66.7%) do not show similarity to any known ORFs. We performed a deletion analysis of all non-essential R27 DNA sequences to search for hitherto non-identified plasmid functions that might be required for plasmid stability. We report the identification of a short DNA sequence (incC) that is essential for R27 stability. That region contains several repeats (incC repeats), belongs to one of the three-plasmid replicons (R27 FIA-like) and is targeted by the R27 E protein. Deletion of the incC sequence drastically reduces R27 stability both in Escherichia coli and in Salmonella, the effect being more pronounced in this latter species. Interfering with incC-E protein interaction must lead to a reduced IncHI1 plasmid stability, and may represent a new approach to combat antimicrobial resistance.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tassinari
authors.affiliation: Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aznar
authors.affiliation: Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Imanol
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Urcola
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prieto
authors.affiliation: Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mário
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hüttener
authors.affiliation: Institut de Bioenginyeria de CatalunyaBarcelona, Spain; Departament de Microbiologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Juárez
keywords: E protein; IncHI1 plasmids; antimicrobial resistance; incC; plasmid R27; plasmid stability