Abstract
Background
Nontyphoid Salmonella (NTS) is a leading cause of human food-borne enteritiS. It has been known that integron, a naturally occurring gene capture and expression element, plays an important role in the development and dissemination of multidrug-resistance. In this study, we investigated the prevalences and molecular characteristics of integrons in NTS clinical strains.
Materials and Methods
Between 1995-96 and 2000-03, a total 261 NTS clinical strains comprising 39 serotypes were collected from clinical specimens. All strains were serotyped, and the MICs of ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, and trimethoprim were determined by agar dilution method. Integrons were detected by PCR amplification of integrase genes, and gene cassettes were determined by PCR and sequencing. Conjugation experiments were performed using E. coli J53 as a recipient. The clonal relationship was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
Results
Of the 261 strains tested, class 1 integrons were present in 21 strains (8.0%). Class 2 and class 3 integrons were not found. The integron-positive rate was higher in S. Typhimurium (24.2% [8/33]) than in S. Enteritidis (2.0% [3/153]). Overall rates of antimicrobial resistance were higher in integron-positive strains. dhfr12-orfF-aadA2 gene cassette was detected in 5 strains, aadA2 in 4 strains, dhfr17-orfF-aadA5 in 2 strains, and addA1 in 1 strain. Ten integron-positive transconjugants were successfully selected. Among 8 integron-positive strains of S. Typhimurium, 7 had similar PFGE patterns.
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