Analysis of penicillin-binding protein genes of clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae with reduced susceptibility to amoxicillin.

ABSTRACT: The recent emergence of pneumococcal isolates exhibiting an unusual resistance phenotype of higher amoxicillin MICs in relation to the penicillin MICs prompted an analysis of the pbp genes from three such strains isolated in France. For comparison, three amoxicillin-susceptible strains were included in the study. DNA sequence analysis of the pbp2x, pbp2b, and pbp1a genes revealed extensive sequence divergence in all six isolates compared to the sequences of the genes of penicillin-susceptible strain R6. With the exception of pbp2b, no amino acid mutations were unique to the resistant isolates. Transformation experiments with cloned pbp genes isolated from one of the resistant isolates demonstrated a stepwise development of amoxicillin resistance involving penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs)

SUBMITTER: du Plessis M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC127354 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature