Of a total of 192 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates, 149 (77.6%) were not susceptible to erythromycin. Of these 149 isolates, 117 (79.1%) contained the erm(B) gene, 16 (10.8%) contained the mef(A) gene, and 15 (10.1%) harbored both the erm(B) and mef(A) genes.

Members of the Mycobacterium abscessus group (MAG) cause lung, soft tissue, and disseminated infections. The oral macrolides clarithromycin and azithromycin are commonly used for treatment. MAG can display clarithromycin resistance through the inducible erm(41) gene or via acquired mutations in the rrl (23S rRNA) gene. Strains harboring a truncation or a T28C substitution in erm(41) lose the in...

The search for a specific rRNA methylase motif led to the identification of the new macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin B resistance gene erm(43) in Staphylococcus lentus. An inducible resistance phenotype was demonstrated by cloning and expressing erm(43) and its regulatory region in Staphylococcus aureus. The erm(43) gene was detected in two different DNA fragments, of 6,230 bp and 1,55...

Interleukin 12 (IL-12)-induced T helper 1 (Th1) development requires Stat4 activation. However, antigen-activated Th1 cells can produce interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) independently of IL-12 and Stat4 activation. Thus, in differentiated Th1 cells, factors regulated by IL-12 and Stat4 may be involved in IFN-gamma production. Using subtractive cloning, we identified ERM, an Ets transcription factor,...

The behaviors of the Macrolide-Lincosamide-Streptogramin (MLS) resistance genes were investigated in an anaerobic-aerobic pilot-scale system treating spiramycin (SPM) production wastewater. After screening fifteen typical MLS resistance genes with different mechanisms using conventional PCR, eight detected genes were determined by quantitative PCR, together with three mobile elements. Aerobic s...

Many Helicobacter pylori genetic studies would benefit from an ability to move DNA sequences easily between strains by transformation and homologous recombination, without needing to leave a conventional drug resistance determinant at the targeted locus. Presented here is a two-gene cassette that can be selected both (i) against, due to a Campylobacter jejuni rpsL gene (dominant streptomycin su...

The macrolide resistance determinants and genetic elements carrying the mef(A) and mef(E) subclasses of the mef gene were studied with Streptococcus agalactiae isolated in 2003 and 2004 from 7,084 vaginorectal cultures performed to detect carrier pregnant women. The prevalence of carriage was 18% (1,276 isolates), and that of erythromycin resistance 11.0% (129 of the 1,171 isolates studied). er...

PURPOSE Clarithromycin was considered the cornerstone for the treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus complex infections. Genetic resistance mechanisms have been described and many experts propose amikacin as an alternative. Nevertheless, clarithromycin has several advantages; therefore, it is necessary to identify the non-functional erm(41) allele to determine the most suitable treatment. The aim...

OBJECTIVES Macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin type B (MLS(B)) resistance was determined in Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from two University Hospitals. METHODS Antibiotic resistance was investigated by double disc diffusion and MIC determination. Resistance determinants were detected by PCR and DNA hybridization, while clonal types were identified by pulsed-field gel electroph...

A 3,165-bp chromosomally integrated transposon, designatedTn3692, of the gram-positive strain Lactobacillus crispatus CHCC3692 contains an erm(B) gene conferring resistance to erythromycin at concentrations of up to 250 micrograms/ml. Loss of this resistance can occur spontaneously, but the rate is substantially increased by heat shock treatment. Heat shock treatment at 60 degrees C resulted in...