Fitness Cost of Rifampin Resistance in Neisseria meningitidis: In Vitro Study of Mechanisms Associated with rpoB H553Y Mutation.

ABSTRACT: Rifampin chemoprophylaxis against Neisseria meningitidis infections led to the onset of rifampin resistance in clinical isolates harboring point mutations in the rpoB gene, coding for the RNA polymerase β chain. These resistant strains are rare in medical practice, suggesting their decreased fitness in the human host. In this study, we isolated rifampin-resistant rpoB mutants from hypervirulent serogroup C strain 93/4286 and analyzed their different properties, including the ability to grow/survive in different culture media and in differentiated THP-1 human monocytes and to compete with the wild-type strain in vitro. Our results demonstrate that different rpoB mutations (H553Y, H553R, and S549F) may have different effects, ranging from low- to high-cost effects, on bacterial fitness in vi

SUBMITTER: Colicchio R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4649176 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature