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Volume 61, Issue 9

Evidence for the predominance of a single (M) gene sequence type in tetracycline-resistant and isolates from Tunisian patients Free

Abstract

Resistance to tetracyclines in genital mycoplasmas is due mainly to acquisition of the (M) determinant, which is frequently associated with conjugative transposon elements of the Tn/Tn family. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the prevalence of (M) in Tunisian isolates and to gain an insight into its origin and evolution. Twenty , two and 48 isolates, recovered from Tunisian patients with urogenital and infertility disorders, were evaluated for their resistance to tetracyclines and interrogated by PCR amplification for the presence of (M) and , the gene encoding the integrase of Tn/Tn-like transposons. The resistance rates to tetracyclines were 22.72 and 25.0 % among and isolates, respectively, with high-level resistance observed in 11 of the 12 resistant isolates. All resistant isolates harboured both (M) and sequences. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the (M) amplicon revealed a unique sequence shared by all tetracycline-resistant clinical isolates of both species. Molecular typing indicated that the tetracycline-resistant and isolates were not clonal. Taken together, these data indicate that a single (M) gene sequence type, most probably transmitted via a Tn/Tn-like transposon, contributes to most of the tetracycline resistance in and isolates in Tunisia. Because this (M) gene sequence type was harboured by different spp. and by phylogenetically distinct isolates within these species, one could reasonably argue that it may have benefited from an efficient horizontal transfer context, making it highly competent to spread.

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© 2012 SGM
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2012-09-01
2024-04-20
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Evidence for the predominance of a single tet(M) gene sequence type in tetracycline-resistant Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma hominis isolates from Tunisian patients
J. Med. Microbiol. 61, 1254 (2012); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.044016-0
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.044016-0
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