Publication details
Transduction of resistance plasmids by bacteriophages induced from methicillin-resistans Staphylococcus aureus strains
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Pathophysiology of Staphylococci |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.pathostaph.de/ |
| Field | Genetics and molecular biology |
| Keywords | Staphylococcus aureus; antimicrobial resistance; horizontal gene transfer; bacteriophages |
| Description | Our work was focused on generalized transduction of resistance plasmids in MRSA strains. In a set of 66 clinical MRSA strains the plasmid content and lysogenicity were estimated. Lysogenic strains harboring tetracycline and penicillinase plasmids were chosen as the donor strains. The transduction were performed with phage lysates obtained by UV-irradiation of the donor strains. The prophage-less strain 8325-4, restriction-deficient strains SA113 and SA1039, and some clinical MRSA strains were used as recipients. Both penicillinase (30.2 kb) and tetracycline (4.4 kb) resistance plasmids were independently transferred into recipient strains SA113 and 8325-4. The transductants were characterized in detail in respect to transferred plasmids, antibiotic resistance phenotype and lysogenicity with transducing phages. The transducing phage induced from an MRSA strain differs from the well defined transducing phages 11, 80alpha and 53 in all tested characteristics, i.e. in integrase type, in the sequence of portal gene and in restriction endonuclease patterns (HindIII and EcoRI). It is suggested that prophages with transducing ability are responsible for dissemination of resistance determinants in populations of MRSA. |
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