Affiliation:
1. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen,1 and
2. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev,2 Denmark
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Rifampin in combination with erythromycin is a recommended treatment for severe cases of legionellosis. Mutations in the
rpoB
gene are known to cause rifampin resistance in
Escherichia coli
and
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
, and the purpose of the present study was to investigate a possible similar resistance mechanism within the members of the family
Legionellaceae
. Since the RNA polymerase genes of this genus have never been characterized, the DNA sequence of the
Legionella pneumophila rpoB
gene was determined by the Vectorette technique for genome walking. A 4,647-bp DNA sequence that contained the open reading frame (ORF) of the
rpoB
gene (4,104 bp) and an ORF of 384 bp representing part of the
rpoC
gene was obtained. A 316-bp DNA fragment in the center of the
L. pneumophila rpoB
gene, corresponding to a previously described site for mutations leading to rifampin resistance in
M. tuberculosis
, was sequenced from 18 rifampin-resistant
Legionella
isolates representing four species (
L. bozemanii
,
L. longbeachae
,
L. micdadei
, and
L. pneumophila
), and the sequences were compared to the sequences of the fragments from the parent (rifampin-sensitive) strains. Six single-base mutations which led to amino acid substitutions at five different positions were identified. A single strain did not contain any mutations in the 316-bp fragment. This study represents the characterization of a hitherto undescribed resistance mechanism within the family
Legionellaceae
.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Pharmacology (medical),Pharmacology
Cited by
32 articles.
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