RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Akova, M. A1 Bonfiglio, G. A1 Livermore, D. M.YR 1991 T1 Susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics of mutant strains of Xanthomonas maltophilia with high- and low-level constitutive expression of L1 and L2 β-lactamases JF Journal of Medical Microbiology, VO 35 IS 4 SP 208 OP 213 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/00222615-35-4-208 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1473-5644, AB Summary Xanthomonas maltophilia produces two inducible β-lactamases, L1 and L2, and resists the antimicrobial activity of β-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems. L1 is a zinc-metaloenzyme with carbapenemase activity; L2 is an unusual cephalosporinase. Mutant strains with high-and low-level constitutive expression of these enzymes were derived from three reference strains of X. maltophilia. With a single exception, the mutant strains had altered expression of both enzymes, indicating that these β-lactamases share regulatory components. The exception was a mutant strain that had low-level constitutive (basal) expression of L1 enzyme but remained inducible for L2. A parent strain with low-level β-lactamase inducibility was more susceptible to penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems than were those in which higher levels of enzyme activity were inducible. Mutations that caused high-level constitutive β-lactamase expression increased resistance to penicillins and newer cephalosporins. β-Lactamase basal mutant strains, including the one that remained inducible for L2 enzyme, were more susceptible than inducible strains to these drugs. Organisms with inducible or high-level constitutive β-lactamase expression were equally resistant to meropenem and imipenem but basal mutant strains, including the one that remained inducible for L2 enzyme, were more susceptible to meropenem than imipenem. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of meropenem, penicillins and cephalosporins, but not imipenem, were greater on Mueller Hinton agar than on IsoSensitest or Diagnostic Sensitivity Test agars. This behaviour was independent of β-lactamase inducibility, and may reflect permeability differences between cells grown on different media., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-35-4-208