Korean J Clin Microbiol.  2010 Mar;13(1):19-26. 10.5145/KJCM.2010.13.1.19.

Molecular and Phenotypic Characteristics of 16S rRNA Methylase-producing Gram-negative Bacilli

• Lee H
• Koh EM
• Kim CK
• Yum JH
• Lee K
• Chong Y

• KMID: 1828591
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5145/KJCM.2010.13.1.19

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Recently a novel plasmid-mediated resistant mechanism that conferred high-level resistance to aminoglycoside via methylation of 16S rRNA was reported. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of the 16S rRNA methylase genes and to characterize the coresistance to other antibiotics in Gram-negative bacilli.
METHODS
Consecutive non-duplicate Gram-negative bacilli were isolated from clinical specimens at a Korean secondary- and tertiary-care hospital from July 2006 to June 2007. The antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by the CLSI agar dilution method,and PCR was performed to detect the 16S rRNA methylase genes in the arbekacin-resistant isolates.
RESULTS
In Gram-negative bacilli, the proportions of 16S rRNA methylase gene-positive isolates were 5% (75/1,471) in the secondary-carehospital and 4% (48/1,251) in the tertiary-care hospital, and the positive rates by species were 1% Escherichiae coli 16% (10/1,062), Klebsiella pneumoniae 16% (75/460), K. oxytoca 2% (1/44), Citrobacter spp. 9% (7/82), Enterobacter spp. 2% (4/181), Serratia marcescens 6% (6/100), Proteus miriabilis 4% (2/57), Achromobacter xylosoxidans 20% (1/5), Pseudomonas aeruginosa < 1% (1/505), Acinetobacter spp. 10% (11/112), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia 2% (1/66), respectively. Among 16S rRNA methylase-positive isolates from secondary- and tertiary-care hospitals, 93% (70/75) and 90% (43/48), respectively, were armA positive, and others, except one rmtA positive isolate, were positive for the rmtB gene, according to PCR results. The rates of ESBL-positive and cefoxitin-resistant K. pneumoniae were 59% and 92%,s respectively. In addition, 91% of 16S rRNA methylase-producing K. pneumoniae were positive for qnrB. There were no MBL producers among 16S rRNA methylase-producing Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter species.
CONCLUSION
The novel aminoglycoside-resistant mechanisms involving16S rRNA methylase were prevalent and widely distributed among Gram-negative bacilli in Korea, and other resistance mechanisms were commonly associated with 16S rRNA methylase-mediated resistance in Korea.

Keyword

16S rRNA dimethylase; armA; qnrB; Aminoglycoside; Gram-negative bacilli

MeSH Terms

Achromobacter denitrificans
Acinetobacter
Agar
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Citrobacter
Enterobacter
Escherichia
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Korea
Methylation
Methyltransferases
Pneumonia
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence
Proteus
Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Serratia marcescens
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
Agar
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Methyltransferases

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