Molecular characterization of trimethoprim resistance in salmonellas isolated in Sicily, 1985–1988

Abstract

The occurrence of trimethoprim (Tp) resistance in salmonellas isolated from humans and water samples in Sicily between 1985 and 1988 has been investigated and the Tp resistance mechanisms have been further characterized on the basis of hybridization with probes for the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) genes types I, II, IV and V. Of 765 strains examined, high level (> 1000 mg/l) resistance to Tp was identified in 23 strains (3%). In 22 of these strains, such resistance was associated with resistance to sulphonamides. Six serovars with Tp-resistant strains were identified, Salmonella typhimurium (14 strains), S. enteridis (2), S. agona (2), S. mbandaka (2), S. virchow (2), S. indiana (1). In all strains with high level Tp resistance, resistance to this antimicrobial was plasmid-encoded, in most strains by plasmids with MWs ranging from 70-100 MDa. On the basis of restriction endonuclease analysis, four different categories of Tp resistance plasmids were identified in Tp-resistant strains of S. typhimurium. Hybridization with the DHFR I probe was observed in three strains of Tp-resistant S. typhimurium and two strains of Tp-resistant S. enteritidis; in contrast, in none of the strains tested was there any detectable hybridization with the probes for DHFR types II, IV and V. It is concluded that the DHFR type I resistance mechanism, common in Tp-resistant enterobacteria in many European countries, is relatively uncommon in Tp-resistant salmonellas isolated in Sicily. Furthermore, the DHFR V resistance mechanism, previously identified in strains of Shigella sonnei isolated in Sicily and associated with travellers from Sri Lanka, has not yet appeared in salmonellas in Sicily.