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    ESBL-plasmids carrying toxin-antitoxin systems can be "cured" of wild-type Escherichia coli using a heat technique (2013)

    Art
    Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag
    Autoren
    Schaufler, Katharina (WE 7)
    Wieler, Lothar H (WE 7)
    Semmler, Torsten (WE 7)
    Ewers, Christa
    Guenther, Sebastian
    Quelle
    Gut pathogens : the official journal of The International Society for Genomic and Evolutionary Microbiology (ISOGEM)
    Bandzählung: 5
    Heftzählung: 1
    Seiten: 34
    ISSN: 1757-4749
    Sprache
    Englisch
    Verweise
    URL (Volltext): http://edocs.fu-berlin.de/docs/receive/FUDOCS_document_000000019527
    DOI: 10.1186/1757-4749-5-34
    Pubmed: 24245987
    Kontakt
    Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen

    Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
    14163 Berlin
    +49 30 838 51843 / 66949
    mikrobiologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

    Abstract / Zusammenfassung

    Plasmid-encoded extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-enzymes are frequently produced by Escherichia coli. Several ESBL-plasmids contain genes for toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems, which assure the maintenance of plasmids in bacteria and prevent the cells from "post-segregational killing". These systems limit options to "cure" plasmids of ESBL-wild-type strains due to the death of the bacterial cells. A helpful tool to understand the role of ESBL-plasmids in the dissemination of pandemic multi-resistant E. coli are ESBL-plasmid-"cured"-variants (PCVs) and their comparison to ESBL-wild-type strains. The purpose of this study was to construct PCVs of ESBL-wild-type E. coli strains despite the presence of genes for TA systems.

    Using enhanced temperatures and brain-heart-infusion broth it was possible to construct viable PCVs of wild-type ESBL-E. coli strains. The occurrence of TA system-genes including hok/sok, srnB/C, vagC/D, pemI/K on ESBL-plasmids of replicon types FIA or FIB was demonstrated by bioinformatic analyses. The loss of the plasmid and the genetic identity of PCV and corresponding wild-type strain was confirmed via different methods including plasmid-profile-analysis, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and bioinformatics using generated whole genome data of the strains.

    This short report describes the successful construction of viable PCVs of ESBL-wild-type E. coli strains. The results are hence surprising due to the fact that all "cured" ESBL-plasmids contained at least one complete toxin-antitoxin system, whose loss would normally mean the death of bacterial cells.