1,720,985 research outputs found

    Functional diversity among metallo-β-lactamases: characterization of the CAR-1 enzyme of Erwinia Carotovora

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    Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are zinc-dependent bacterial enzymes characterized by an efficient hydrolysis of carbapenems and a lack of sensitivity to commercially available β-lactamase inactivators. Apart from the acquired subclass B1 enzymes, which exhibit increasing clinical importance and whose evolutionary origin remains unclear, most MBLs are encoded by resident genes found in the genomes of organisms belonging to at least three distinct phyla. Using genome database mining, we identified an open reading frame (ORF) (ECA2849) encoding an MBL-like protein in the sequenced genome of Erwinia carotovora, an important plant pathogen. Although no detectable β-lactamase activity could be found in E. carotovora, a recombinant Escherichia coli strain in which the ECA2849 ORF was cloned showed decreased susceptibility to several β-lactams, while carbapenem MICs were surprisingly poorly affected. The enzyme, named CAR-1, was purified by means of ion-exchange chromatography steps, and its characterization revealed unique structural and functional features. This new MBL was able to efficiently hydrolyze cephalothin, cefuroxime, and cefotaxime and, to a lesser extent, penicillins and the other cephalosporins but only poorly hydrolyzed meropenem, while imipenem was not recognized. CAR-1 is the first example of a functional naturally occurring MBL in the family Enterobacteriaceae (order Enterobacteriales) and highlights the extraordinary structural and functional diversity exhibited by MBLs. Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved

    Genetic and biochemical characterization of FUS-1 (OXA-85), a narrow-spectrum class D beta-lactamase from Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. polymorphum

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    Previous studies have reported β-lactamase-mediated penicillin resistance in Fusobacterium nucleatum, but no β-lactamase gene has yet been identified in this species. An F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum strain resistant to penicillin and amoxicillin was isolated from a human periodontitis sample. DNA cloning and sequencing revealed a 765-bp open reading frame encoding a new class D β-lactamase named FUS-1 (OXA-85). A recombinant Escherichia coli strain carrying the blaFUS-1 gene exhibited resistance to amoxicillin with a moderate decrease in the MICs with clavulanic acid. The bla FUS-1 gene was found in two additional clonally unrelated F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum isolates. It was located on the chromosome in a peculiar genetic environment where a gene encoding a putative transposase-like protein is found, suggesting a possible acquisition of this class D β-lactamase gene. The FUS-1 enzyme showed the closest ancestral relationship with OXA-63 from Brachyspira pilosicoli (53% identity) and with putative chromosomal β-lactamases of Campylobacter spp. (40 to 42% identity). FUS-1 presents all of the conserved structural motifs of class D β-lactamases. Kinetic analysis revealed that FUS-1 exhibits a narrow substrate profile, efficiently hydrolyzing benzylpenicillin and oxacillin. FUS-1 was poorly inactivated by clavulanate and NaC1. FUS-1 is the first example of a class D β-lactamase produced by a gram-negative, anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium to be characterized. Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved

    Novel 3-N-aminoglycoside acetyltransferase gene, aac(3)-Ic, from a Pseudomonas aeruginosa integron

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    A novel gene, aac(3)-Ic, encoding an AAC(3)-I aminoglycoside 3-N-acetyltransferase, was identified on a gene cassette inserted into a Pseudomonas aeruginosa integron that also carries a blaVIM-2 and a cmlA7 gene cassette. The aac(3)-Ic gene product is 59 and 57% identical to AAC(3)-Ia and AAC(3)-Ib, respectively, and confers resistance to gentamicin and sisomicin

    BEL-2, an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase with increased activity toward expanded-spectrum cephalosporins in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

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    A Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate recovered in Belgium produced a novel extended-spectrum ß-lactamase, BEL-2, differing from BEL-1 by a single Leu162Phe substitution. That modification significantly altered the kinetic properties of the enzyme, increasing its affinity for expanded-spectrum cephalosporins. The blaBEL-2 gene was identified from a P. aeruginosa isolate clonally related to another blaBEL-1-positive isolate. Copyright © 2010, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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