Abstract
The complete nucleotide sequence of a tetracycline-resistance gene (tetK)-carrying plasmid from a Staphylococcus saprophyticus isolate from jeotgal, a Korean high-salt-fermented seafood, was determined. The plasmid, designated pSSTET1, was 4439 bp in length and encoded typical elements found in plasmids that replicate via a rolling-circle mechanism, including the replication protein gene (rep), a double-stranded origin of replication, a single-stranded origin of replication, and a counter-transcribed RNA sequence. Additionally, the plasmid recombination enzyme gene (pre), which may be involved in inter-plasmid recombination and conjugation, was found. Each gene exhibited >94% sequence identity with those harbored in other Staphylococcus species. pSSTET1 was conditionally transferred to Staphylococcus species in a host-dependent manner and transferred to an Enterococcus faecalis strain in vitro. Antibiotic susceptibility of the transconjugants was host-dependent and transconjugants maintained a tetracycline-resistant phenotype in the absence of selective pressure over 100 generations.
Highlights
Antibiotic resistance studies of bacteria have mainly focused on clinically-important species that are directly exposed to antibiotics; antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found in diverse niches including soil, water, foods, and the gastrointestinal tract
Sequence analysis revealed that pSSTET1 contains elements that are typical of plasmids that replicate via a rolling-circle mechanism: the entire replication protein gene, a doublestranded origin of replication, a single-stranded origin of replication, and an origin of transfer, together with tetK and a plasmid recombination enzyme gene (Fig 1). pSSTET1 had two nucleotides that differed from S. aureus USA300_FPR3757 pUSA02
Before our identification of pSSTET1, the same gene organization has been identified from coagulase-positive S. aureus as well as coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) including S. epidermidis, Staphylococcus hemolyticus, and S. lentus
Summary
Antibiotic resistance studies of bacteria have mainly focused on clinically-important species that are directly exposed to antibiotics; antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found in diverse niches including soil, water, foods, and the gastrointestinal tract. The intestinal microflora is a potential source of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and the food chain is considered as one of the possible transfer routes of antibiotic resistance from animal and environment-associated antibiotic-resistant bacteria into the human gastrointestinal tract where these genes may be transferred to pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria [2, 3].
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