A class 1 integron present in a human commensal has a hybrid transposition module compared to Tn402: evidence of interaction with mobile DNA from natural environments

J Bacteriol. 2008 Aug;190(15):5318-27. doi: 10.1128/JB.00199-08. Epub 2008 May 23.

Abstract

In a survey of class 1 integrons from human stools, an unusual class 1 integron from a strain of Enterobacter cloacae was isolated and characterized in detail. Sequence analysis of a fosmid containing the class 1 integron revealed a complex set of transposons which included two Tn402-like transposons. One of these transposons, Tn6007, included a class 1 integron with two non-antibiotic-resistance-type gene cassettes and a complete transposition module. This tni module is a hybrid with a boundary within the res site compared to Tn402, implying that a site-specific recombination event generated either Tn6007 or Tn402. The second Tn402-like transposon, Tn6008, possesses neither a mer operon nor an integron, and most of its tni module has been deleted. Tn6007, Tn6008, and the 2,478 bases between them, collectively designated Tn6006, have transposed into a Tn5036/Tn3926-like transposon as a single unit. Tn6006, Tn6007, and Tn6008 could all transpose as discrete entities. Database analysis also revealed that a version of Tn6008 was present in the genome of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. Overall, the E. cloacae isolate further demonstrated that functional class 1 integrons/transposons are probably common in bacterial communities and have the potential to add substantially to the problem of multidrug-resistant nosocomial infections.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Base Sequence
  • Conjugation, Genetic
  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Enterobacter cloacae / genetics*
  • Enterobacter cloacae / isolation & purification
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Gene Order
  • Humans
  • Integrons*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Recombination, Genetic
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Deletion
  • Xanthomonas campestris / genetics

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • DNA, Bacterial

Associated data

  • GENBANK/EU591508
  • GENBANK/EU591509