The product of the qacC gene of Staphylococcus epidermidis CH mediates resistance to β-lactam antibiotics in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

Derie E. Fuentes, Claudio A. Navarro, Juan C. Tantaleán, Manuel A. Araya, Claudia P. Saavedra, José M. Pérez, Iván L. Calderón, Phil A. Youderian, Guido C. Mora, Claudio C. Vásquez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We have characterized a natural isolate of Staphylococcus epidermidis resistant to heavy metals that carries a small 2391-bp plasmid, pSepCH, encoding the qacC gene. The S. epidermidis qacC gene confers resistance to a number of β-lactam antibiotics and to ethidium bromide in its natural host and in Escherichia coli K12 and Salmonella enterica sv. Typhimurium. This is the first communication of a small multidrug resistance (SMR) pump involved in resistance to β-lactam antibiotics. Experiments using tolC, ompW and ompD mutant strains of S. Typhimurium demonstrated that the β-lactam antibiotic resistance conferred by this pump does not depend on these outer membrane proteins.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)472-477
Number of pages6
JournalResearch in Microbiology
Volume156
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2005

Keywords

  • Ethidium bromide
  • Multidrug resistance
  • SMR
  • Staphylococcus epidermidis
  • qacC
  • β-Lactam resistance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology

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