A fluoroquinolone resistance associated mutation in gyrA affects DNA supercoiling in Campylobacter jejuni

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2012-03-01
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Han, Jing
Wang, Yang
Sahin, Orhan
Shen, Zhangqi
Guo, Baoqing
Shen, Jianzhong
Zhang, Qijing
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Zhang, Qijing
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Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine
Our faculty promote the understanding of causes of infectious disease in animals and the mechanisms by which diseases develop at the organismal, cellular and molecular levels. Veterinary microbiology also includes research on the interaction of pathogenic and symbiotic microbes with their hosts and the host response to infection.
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Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine
Abstract

The prevalence of fluoroquinolone (FQ)-resistant Campylobacter has become a concern for public health. To facilitate the control of FQ-resistant (FQR) Campylobacter, it is necessary to understand the impact of FQR on the fitness of Campylobacter in its natural hosts as understanding fitness will help to determine and predict the persistence of FQRCampylobacter. Previously it was shown that acquisition of resistance to FQ antimicrobials enhanced the in vivo fitness of FQRCampylobacter. In this study, we confirmed the role of the Thr-86-Ile mutation in GyrA in modulating Campylobacter fitness by reverting the mutation to the wild-type (WT) allele, which resulted in the loss of the fitness advantage. Additionally, we determined if the resistance-conferring GyrA mutations alter the enzymatic function of the DNA gyrase. Recombinant WT gyrase and mutant gyrases with three different types of mutations (Thr-86-Ile, Thr-86-Lys, and Asp-90-Asn), which are associated with FQR in Campylobacter, were generated in E. coli and compared for their supercoiling activities using an in vitro assay. The mutant gyrase with the Thr-86-Ile change showed a greatly reduced supercoiling activity compared with the WT gyrase, while other mutant gyrases did not show an altered supercoiling. Furthermore, we measured DNA supercoiling within Campylobacter cells using a reporter plasmid. Consistent with the results from the in vitro supercoiling assay, the FQR mutant carrying the Thr-86-Ile change in GyrA showed much less DNA supercoiling than the WT strain and the mutant strains carrying other mutations. Together, these results indicate that the Thr-86-Ile mutation, which is predominant in clinical FQRCampylobacter, modulates DNA supercoiling homeostasis in FQRCampylobacter.

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This article is published as Han, Jing, Yang Wang, Orhan Sahin, Zhangqi Shen, Baoqing Guo, Jianzhong Shen, and Qijing Zhang. "A Fluoroquinolone Resistance Associated Mutation in gyrA Affects DNA Supercoiling in Campylobacter jejuni." Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 2 (2012): 21. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2012.00021. Posted with permission.

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Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2012
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