• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.326-333
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• 2010

A total of 105 nontyphoid Salmonella isolated from infants in Seoul from 2003 to 2009 was investigated for their serotype, antimicrobial resistance, characterization of integron, and the patterns of Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Eighteen serotypes were detected in 105 isolates, and the two most common serotypes were S. Enteritidis (47.6%) and Montevideo (15.2%). Among the Salmonella serovars, a high level of antimicrobial resistance was found to ampicilin (60%), tetracycline (46.7%), streptomycin (35.2%) and nalidixic acid (28.6%). In the multi-drug resistance patterns, the predominant patterns were only nalidixic acid (15.7%), ampicillin-ampicillin/sulbactam-tetracycline (14.5%), and ampicillin-streptomycin-chloramphenicol-tetracycline (10.8%). PCR and DNA sequencing analysis revealed the presence of class 1 integron in 20 isolates (19%). Of the class 1 integron positive isolates 20% harboured the integron-associated gene cassettes : aadA2, blaP1, dfr17-aadA5, dfrA12-aadA2, and aadA7. PFGE was carried out to examine the genetic relatedness among S. Enteritidis isolates. Except for three strains, fifty strains were divided by three pulsotypes.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.65-70
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• 2015

Antimicrobial agents or additives have commonly been used in domestic animals for the prevention and treatment of bacterial diseases. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the overgrowth of bacteria that is resistant to antimicrobial agents used by humans, and these might get disseminated to humans via the food. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of integrons, and characterized gene cassette arrays in Proteus mirabilis isolates obtained from chickens in Chungcheong province of Korea. Additionally, the correlation between gene cassette arrays and antimicrobial resistance rate was studied. A total of 26 Proteus mirabilis isolates were recovered from chickens in Chungcheong province in Korea. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion method. PCR and DNA sequencing were performed to characterize the gene cassette arrays. In addition, we employed repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR (REP-PCR) method for clonality analysis of P. mirabilis strains. Of the 26 P. mirabilis isolates tested, 14 (53.8%) isolates carried class 1 integrons, while class 2 and class 3 integrons were not detected in our study. The class 1 integrons harbored genes encoding resistance to aminoglycosides (aacCA5, aadA2, aadA5 and aadA7), trimethoprim (dfrA17, and dfrA32), lincosamides (linF) and erythromycin (ereA). In particular, the presence of class 1 integron had a significant correlatation to a high resistance rate of aminoglycoside and trimethoprim. We confirmed that class 1 integrons are widely disseminated in P. mirabilis isolates from chickens, contributing to the resistance to diverse antimicrobial agents in Korea. To prevent further spreading of antimicrobial resistant genes among P. mirabilis isolates, constant monitoring and clinical policing will become necessary.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2006

Thirty five Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains were isolated from diarrheic patients and pigs in Gyeongbuk area from 2003 to 2004. All 35 strains (17 strains from diarrheic patients and 18 from pigs) were resistant to more than one drug and most of strains isolated from pigs were resistant to ampicillin, ohloram-phenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprime, tetracyclin and nalidixic acid. Each isolate was also screened or the presence of class I, II and III integron gene cassettes. Among 35 strains,3 out of 17 strains isolated from diarrheic patients, carried dhfrX-orfF-aadA2 integron gene cassette and among 18 strains isolated from diseased pigs, 11 strains carried dhfrX-orfF-aadA2 integron gene cassette and 1 strain carried aadA2 integron only. But any class II and class II integron gene cassette were not detected in 35 strains. Thirty five strains were divided by five pulsotypes. Thirty one strains out of thirty five were pulsotype A. Among the remaining 4 strains, one each strain belonged to pulsotype B, C, D and pulsotype E. This data of pulsotypes showed that the widespread of pulsotype A, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in human and pigs in Gyeongbuk area may have been caused by the dissemination of a few epidemic strains in this area. Thirteen strains contain dhfrX-orfF-aadA2 integron gene cassette showed pulsotype A and one strain contains dhfrX-orfF-aadA2 integron gene cassette showed pulsotype B. One strain contains aadA2 integron showed pulsotype E. But fifteen strains do not contain any integron showed pulsotype A.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.303-307
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• 2010

Acinetobacter baumannii 1625, a clinical isolate identified by Vitek and 16S rDNA sequence, showed an extended resistance to most ${\beta}$-lactams including imipenem, kanamycin, gentamicin, tobramycin, and cephalosporins of the third and fourth generations, and produced metallo-${\beta}$-lactamase (MBL) of IMP-1 type which is rare in Korea. The isolate contained a class 1 integron of about 2.5 kb in size and the integron included accA4 (aminoglycoside resistance gene), $bla_{IMP-1}$ (carbapenem resistance gene), and $bla_{OXA-2}$ (extended-spectrum ${\beta}$-lactam resistance gene) gene cassettes in order. The coexistence of IMP-1 type and OXA-2 type ${\beta}$-lactamase gene cassettes in an integron has not been reported in Korea. The transformed integron rendered the E. coli transformant resistant more than eight folds against imipenem, ampicilin, piperacillin, cefazolin, cefoperazone, and aztreonam comparing to the reference strain. This study clearly showed that the extended multi-drug resistance of A. baumannii 1625 was mainly due to the integron.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2010

A trimethoprim resistant Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which cause acute gastroenteritis in humans, was isolated from farmed fish and seawater. The resistance profiles of isolated V. parahaemolyticus and their correlation with mobile elements were investigated. All of the V. parahaemolyticus were resistance to both rifampin and trimethoprim. The presence of class I integron was confirmed by PCR. PCR-amplified inserted gene cassettes contained aminoglycoside aac6-II, rifampin arr-3 and trimethoprim dfrA27 resistance genes. This study indicated that class I integron mainly contributed to the circulation of trimethoprim resistance determinants in V. parahaemolyticus.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2017

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica is a common microbial flora in pet turtles, which could opportunistically become pathogenic to human. Their possession of aminoglycoside resistance genes has important significance both in humans and animal medicine. In this study, twenty-one Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica were isolated from thirty-five individual turtles purchased from pet shops and online markets in Korea. In order to characterize the aminoglycoside susceptibility patterns, antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed against gentamicin, amikacin and kanamycin of aminoglycoside antimicrobial group. Each of the isolates showed susceptibility to all tested aminoglycosides in disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests. PCR assay was carried out to determine aminoglycoside resistance genes, integron and integron mediated aminoglycoside genes. None of the isolates showed aac(3)-IIa, aac-(6')-Ib, armA, aphAI-IAB aminoglycoside resistance genes. Only, five isolates (24%) harbored class 1 integron related IntI1 integrase gene. The results suggest that Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica strains isolated from pet turtles are less resistance to aminoglycosides and don't harbor any aminoglycosides resistance genes.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.444-452
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• 2019

Carbapenem resistance, mediated by the major acquired metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) genes, has been increasingly reported, particularly for clinical isolates of Acinetobacter spp. Of the 191 nonduplicate clinical isolates of the carbapenem-nonsusceptible Acinetobacter spp. evaluated, 125 isolates (65.4%) were positive for the modified imipenem or meropenem-Hodge test, and 49 isolates (25.7%) were positive for the imipenem-EDTA+SMA double disk synergy test (DDS). PCR and sequencing of the bla_VIM-2-allele and bla_IMP-1-allele showed that 29 A. baumannii isolates and 1 A. calcoaceticus isolate had bla_VIM-2, whereas 16 A. baumannii isolates and 2 A. calcoaceticus isolates had bla_IMP-6; 1 isolate of the A. genomospecies 3 had bla_VIM-2 and bla_AIM-1. All the above MBL genes belong to class 1 integron. The size of class 1 integron encompassing bla_VIM-2 or bla_IMP-6 ranges from 2.8 kb to 3.2 kb in clinical isolates of A. baumannii, and 3.2 kb to 3.5 kb in clinical isolates of A. genomospecies 3. bla_VIM-2 was most often located first or second in the class 1 integron, and these integrons often included aacA4. Due to dispersion of the MBL-producing Acinetobacter spp. as well as integron, which may encompass various resistance genes, there is an expectation for the increase of multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including resistance of carbapenems such as imipenem or meropenem. Hence, the development of new antimicrobial agents for treating severe Acinetobacter spp. infections is needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3309-3315
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• 2016

Helicobacter pylori as the second most common cause of gastric cancer in the world infects approximately half of the developed countries population and 80% of the population living in developing countries. Integrons as genetic reservoirs play major roles in dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report carriage of class 1 and 2 integrons and associated gene cassettes in H. pylori isolates from Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran among 110 patients with H. pylori infection. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for H. pylori strains were assessed by the micro broth dilution method. Class 1 and 2 integrons were detected using PCR. In order to determine gene cassettes, amplified fragments were subjected to DNA sequencing of both amplicon strands. The prevalence of resistance to clarithromycin, metronidazole, clarithromycin, tetracycline, amoxicillin, rifampin, and levofloxacin were 68.2% (n=75), 25.5% (n=28), 24.5% (n=27), 19.1% (n=21), 18.2% (n=20) and 16.4% (n=18), respectively. Frequency of multidrug resistance among H. pylori isolates was 12.7%. Class 2 integron was detected in 50 (45.5%) and class 1 integron in 10 (9.1%) H. pylori isolates. The most predominant gene cassette arrays in class 2 integron-bearing H. pylori were included sat-era-aadA1, dfrA1-sat2-aadA1, blaoxa2 and, aadB whereas common gene cassette arrays in class 1 integron were aadB-aadA1-cmlA6, aacA4, blaoxa2, and catB3. The high frequency of class 2 integron and multidrug resistance in the present study should be considered as a warning for clinicians that continuous surveillance is necessary to prevent the further spread of resistant isolates.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 2016

Recently, antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic bacteria has been increasing due to excessive use of antimicrobial agents in both humans and livestock. PCR amplification and nucleotide sequence analyses were conducted to investigate16S ribosomal RNA methyltransferase (RMTase) genes and integrons in P. mirabilis strains isolated from clinical specimens and chickens in an area of the Chungcheong providence. In addition, clonality analysis of P. mirabilis strains was performed using a repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR (REP-PCR) method. Of the total 38 P. mirabilis isolates, 7 (18.4%) strains were isolated from clinical specimens contained in the RMTase genes and showed resistance to amikacin, tobramycin, and gentamicin. A total of 23 (60.5%) isolates carried class 1 integrons, but no isolates in our study harbored class 2 and class 3 integrons. Class 1 integrons detected in our study harbored genes encoding resistance to aminoglycosides (aadA2, aadA5, aadA7, and aacCA5), ${\beta}$-lactams ($bla_{PSE}$), erythromycin (ereA), lincosamides (linF), and trimethoprim (dfrA12, dfrA17, and dfrA32). We confirmed that the RMTase genes had spread among only the P. mirabilis isolates from clinical specimens, but class 1 integrons had widely disseminated among P. mirabilis isolates from clinical specimens and chickens. In addition, identical REP-PCR banding patterns were evidenced in only P. mirabilis isolates from chickens. Our results suggest the horizontal spreading of P. mirabilis isolates in the chicken farm. To prevent further spreading of antimicrobial resistant genes among P. mirabilis isolates, monitoring and clinical policing will be required.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.335-343
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics used in animal husbandry for disease prevention and treatment have resulted in the rapid progression of antibiotic resistant bacteria which can be introduced into the environment through livestock feces/manure, disseminating antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs). In this study, fecal samples were collected from the livestock farms located in Jeju Island to investigate the relationship between microbial communities and ARGs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Illumina MiSeq sequencing was applied to characterize microbial communities within each fecal sample. Using quantitative PCR (qPCR), ten ARGs encoding tetracycline resistance (tetB, tetM), sulfonamide resistance (sul1, sul2), fluoroquinolone resistance (qnrD, qnrS), fluoroquinolone and aminoglycoside resistance (aac(6')-Ib), beta-lactam resistance (bla_TEM, bla_CTX-M), macrolide resistance (ermC), a class 1 integronsintegrase gene (intI1), and a class 2 integrons-integrase gene (intI2) were quantified. The results showed that Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were dominant in human, cow, horse, and pig groups, while Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were dominant in chicken group. Among ARGs, tetM was detected with the highest number of copies, followed by sul1 and sul2. Most of the genera belonging to Firmicutes showed positive correlations with ARGs and integron genes. There were 97, 34, 31, 25, and 22 genera in chicken, cow, pig, human, and horse respectively which showed positive correlations with ARGs and integron genes. In network analysis, we identified diversity of microbial communities which correlated with ARGs and integron genes. CONCLUSION(S): In this study, antibiotic resistance patterns in human and livestock fecal samples were identified. The abundance of ARGs and integron genes detected in the samples were associated with the amount of antibiotics commonly used for human and livestocks. We found diverse microbial communities associated with antibiotics resistance genes in different hosts, suggesting that antibiotics resistance can disseminate across environments through various routes. Identifying the routes of ARG dissemination in the environment would be the first step to overcome the challenge of antibiotic resistance in the future.