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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2008, p. 3417-3425, Vol. 46, No. 10
0095-1137/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00835-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Urinary Tract Infections in a South American Population: Dynamic Spread of Class 1 Integrons and Multidrug Resistance by Homologous and Site-Specific Recombination{triangledown}

Carolina Márquez,1,3 Maurizio Labbate,2 Claudia Raymondo,3 Jimena Fernández,3 Alicia M. Gestal,4 Marita Holley,2 Graciela Borthagaray,3 and H. W. Stokes2*

Cátedra de Microbiología, Instituto de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias—UDELAR, Montevideo, Uruguay,1 Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia,2 Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Química—UDELAR, Montevideo, Uruguay,3 School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia4

Received 2 May 2008/ Returned for modification 22 July 2008/ Accepted 19 August 2008

One hundred four bacterial strains mediating urinary tract infections in separate individuals from a Uruguayan community were isolated. Forty-six strains conferred a multidrug resistance phenotype. All 104 strains were examined for the presence of class 1, 2, and 3 integrons. Class 1 integrons were found in 21 isolates across four distinct bacterial genera. A large class 1 integron in a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain was fully sequenced and was 29,093 bp in length. This integron probably arose by homologous recombination since it was embedded in a hybrid Tn21-like transposon backbone which comprised a Tn5036-like tnp transposition module at the IRi integron end and a Tn21 mer module at the IRt integron end. The parent integron/transposon that contributed the Tn5036 module was not related to Tn1696 since the integron insertion points in the transposon backbones were 16 bases apart. Examination of the other 20 class 1 integron-containing strains revealed further evidence of genetic exchange. This included a strain that possessed a Tn5036 module at the IRt end but not at the IRi end and another that possessed a tnp module beyond IRi that was a hybrid of Tn21 and Tn5051 and that is presumed to have arisen by site-specific recombination. This study highlights the ability of different genetic elements to act cooperatively to spread and rearrange antibiotic resistance in a community.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia. Phone: (612) 9850 8164. Fax: (612) 9850 8313. E-mail: hstokes{at}cbms.mq.edu.au

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 27 August 2008.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2008, p. 3417-3425, Vol. 46, No. 10
0095-1137/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00835-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Chowdhury, P. R., Merlino, J., Labbate, M., Cheong, E. Y.-L., Gottlieb, T., Stokes, H. W. (2009). Tn6060, a Transposon from a Genomic Island in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Isolate That Includes Two Class 1 Integrons. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 53: 5294-5296 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gillings, M. R., Labbate, M., Sajjad, A., Giguere, N. J., Holley, M. P., Stokes, H. W. (2009). Mobilization of a Tn402-Like Class 1 Integron with a Novel Cassette Array via Flanking Miniature Inverted-Repeat Transposable Element-Like Structures. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 6002-6004 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Marquez, C., Labbate, M., Ingold, A. J., Chowdhury, P. R., Ramirez, M. S., Centron, D., Borthagaray, G., Stokes, H. W. (2008). Recovery of a Functional Class 2 Integron from an Escherichia coli Strain Mediating a Urinary Tract Infection. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52: 4153-4154 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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