Earliest observation of the tetracycline destructase tet(X3).

ABSTRACT: Tigecycline is an antibiotic of last resort for infections with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Plasmids harboring variants of the tetracycline destructase gene tetX promote rising tigecycline resistance rates. We report the earliest observation of tet(X3) in a clinical strain predating tigecycline's commercialization, suggesting selective pressures other than tigecycline contributed to its emergence.

Importance

We present the earliest observation of a tet(X3)-positive bacterial strain, predating by many years the earliest reports of this gene so far. This finding is significant as tigecycline is an antibiotic of last resort for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), which the World Health Organization ranks as on

SUBMITTER: Grenier F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10986324 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature