OBJECTIVES To analyse the in vitro transfer of the qnrA1 gene by a 50 kb (pSZ50) self-transferable plasmid that derives from a 300 kb plasmid (pSZ300) and to determine the complete nucleotide sequence of plasmid pSZ50. METHODS Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes of an Escherichia coli clinical isolate were analysed. Plasmid analysis incl...

Four nontyphoidal Salmonella strains with resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins and nonclassical quinolone resistance phenotype were studied. Two S. Give were isolated from pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis, and two S. Heidelberg were recovered from raw chicken meat. Phenotypic characterization included antimicrobial susceptibility testing and detection of extended-spectrum...

OBJECTIVES To gain insight into the functionality of qnr-like genes of several bacterial species of Vibrionaceae that may encode quinolone resistance determinants. METHODS A PCR-based strategy was used to obtain qnr-like genes of reference strains of Vibrio vulnificus CIP103196, Vibrio parahaemolyticus CIP71.2 and Photobacterium profundum CIP106289 that were sequenced, cloned and expressed in...

Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants are emerging among gram-negative pathogens. Here we report results of a retrospective study investigating the prevalence of aac(6')-Ib-cr, qepA, and qnr genes among 19,010 human isolates of non-Typhi Salmonella enterica collected in the United States from 1996 to 2006.

Real-time PCR assays were developed for the enumeration of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants, such as the qnrA, qnrB, and qnrS genes, in different water samples and chicken feces. The results indicate that the developed assays are specific and sensitive for the quantification of qnr genes in complex samples.

We report the draft genome sequences of two unrelated cases of Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) possessing the carbapenemase gene blaIMP-4. The E. coli ST131 SN5 isolate also possessed blaSHV-12 and plasmid-mediated quinolone-resistance genes. Wider dissemination of blaIMP-4 may occur due to the blaIMP-4-carrying L/M or HI2 plasmids among E. coli ST131 isolates.

1. World Health Organization. Global strategy for containment of antimicrobial resistance [cited 2006 Nov 10]. Geneva: The Organization; 2001. Available from http://www.who.int/drugresistance/en 2. Bartoloni A, Pallecchi L, Benedetti M, Fernandez C, Vallejos Y, Guzman E, et al. Multidrug-resistant commensal Escherichia coli in children, Peru and Bolivia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:907–13. 3. Pal...

To the Editor: The emergence of plasmid-mediated, and thus transfer-able, quinolone resistance determinants has been recently discovered (1) and shown to involve the pentapeptide repeat protein Qnr, which interacts with DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV to prevent quinolone inhibition (2,3). Qnr determinants confer resistance to nalidixic acid and reduced susceptibility to fl uoroquinolones (3). ...

A novel plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene, qnrB, has been discovered in a plasmid encoding the CTX-M-15 beta-lactamase from a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain isolated in South India. It has less than 40% amino acid identity with the original qnr (now qnrA) gene or with the recently described qnrS but, like them, codes for a protein belonging to the pentapeptide repeat family. Strains with...

Introduction Salmonella is known as one of the most important causes of gastrointestinal disease in the world. Quinolones and fluoroquinolones are used successfully in the treatment of salmonellosis particularly for infections that have become resistant to several antibiotics. But non-susceptible isolates to quinolones have been reported in several countries. The data are limited about the prev...