Spread of a chromosomal cefixime-resistant penA gene among different Neisseria gonorrhoeae lineages.

ABSTRACT: In Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the mosaic type of penA, which encodes penicillin-binding protein 2 (PBP 2), is associated with reduced susceptibility to oral cephalosporins. To investigate the relatedness of N. gonorrhoeae clinical isolates with reduced susceptibility, we sequenced the penA genes of 32 isolates. Five different amino acid sequence types of PBP 2 were identified, but all seemed to be derivatives of pattern X of PBP 2 (PBP 2-X). However, multilocus sequence typing of the isolates showed that the isolates belonged to six different sequence types. As PBP 2-X was identified in three different sequence types, horizontal transfer of the penA allele encoding PBP2-X was suggested. We demonstrated that the penA gene could be transferred from an isolate with reduced susceptibility to a sen

SUBMITTER: Ohnishi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2826007 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature