IreB, a Ser/Thr kinase substrate, influences antimicrobial resistance in Enterococcus faecalis.

ABSTRACT: Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive bacterium that is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections, in part due to its intrinsic resistance to cephalosporins. The mechanism that confers intrinsic cephalosporin resistance in enterococci remains incompletely defined. Previously, we have shown that the Ser/Thr protein kinase and phosphatase pair IreK and IreP act antagonistically to regulate cephalosporin resistance in E. faecalis. We hypothesize that IreK senses antibiotic-induced cell wall damage and activates a signaling pathway leading to antibiotic resistance. However, the factors downstream of IreK have not yet been identified. To discover such factors, suppressor mutations that restored resistance to a ΔireK kinase mutant were identified. Mutations were found in IreB, a highly co

SUBMITTER: Hall CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3837872 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature