Mutations in SilS and CusS/OmpC represent different routes to achieve high level silver ion tolerance in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Silver ions have potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and are widely incorporated into a variety of products to limit bacterial growth. In Enterobacteriaceae, decreased silver susceptibility has been mapped to two homologous operons; the chromosomally located cus operon and the plasmid based sil operon. Here we characterised the mechanisms and clinical impact of induced silver tolerance in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Results

In K. pneumoniae carriage of the sil operon alone does not give elevated silver tolerance. However, when exposed to increasing concentrations of silver nitrate (AgNO₃), K. pneumoniae strains which contain the sil operon, will preferentially mutate SilS, resulting in overexpression of the genes encoding the RND efflux pump silCBA.

SUBMITTER: Woolley CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9036812 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature