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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #254275
Title: Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of tetracycline and minocycline resistance in Clostridium perfringens

Author
item PARK, MISEON - Us Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
item Rooney, Alejandro - Alex
item HECHT, DAVID - Loyola University Medical Center
item LI, JIHONG - University Of Pittsburgh
item MCCLANE, BRUCE - University Of Pittsburgh
item NAYAK, RAJESH - Us Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
item PAINE, DONALD - Us Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
item RAFII, FATEMEH - Us Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

Submitted to: Archives of Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/5/2010
Publication Date: 10/1/2010
Citation: Park, M., Rooney, A.P., Hecht, D.W., Li, J., Mcclane, B.A., Nayak, R., Paine, D.D., Rafii, F. 2010. Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of tetracycline and minocycline resistance in Clostridium perfringens. Archives Of Microbiology. 192(10)803-810. DOI: 10.1007/s00203-010-0605-5.

Interpretive Summary: This manuscript describes work on the genetic basis of antibiotic resistance in Clostridium perfringens, an important human and livestock pathogen that causes food poisoning, gastrointestinal necrosis, and gangrene. We identified a number of tetracycline-resistance strains that we isolated from different sources (humans, livestock, chickens, and soil) and found that the highest prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains were isolated from chickens. Our findings carry important ramifications for control and surveillance of antiobiotic resistance in C. perfringens.

Technical Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of tetracycline resistance and the prevalence of tetracycline-resistance genes in strains of Clostridium perfringens isolated from different sources between 1994 and 2005. Susceptibility to tetracycline and minocycline in C. perfringens isolates from humans (35 isolates), chickens (15 isolates), food (21 isolates), soil (16 isolates) and other veterinary sources (6 isolates) was determined and tetracycline-resistance genes were detected. Tetracycline and minocycline resistance were most common in strains isolated from chickens, followed by those from soils, humans and foods. tetA(P) was the most common tet resistance gene. The tetB(P) gene was found not only in all tetA(P)-carrying tetracycline and minocycline-resistant strains but also in some sensitive strains. One tetracycline-resistant food isolate had an intact tet(M) gene. However, PCR fragments of 0.4 or 0.8 kb with high degrees of identity to parts of the tet(M) sequences of other bacteria were found in 30% of the isolates, often with tetB(P). No correlation between the levels of sensitivity to tetracycline and minocycline and the presence of tetA(P), tetB(P) or part of tet(M) was found. The presence of part of tet(M) in some strains of C. perfringens containing tetB(P) may have occurred by recent gene transfer.