This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kazimierczak, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Aminov, R. I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kazimierczak, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Aminov, R. I.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Kazimierczak, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Aminov, R. I.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2009, p. 1717-1722, Vol. 75, No. 6
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02206-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Tetracycline Resistome of the Organic Pig Gut{triangledown}

Katarzyna A. Kazimierczak, Karen P. Scott, Denise Kelly, and Rustam I. Aminov*

Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB21 9SB, United Kingdom

Received 24 September 2008/ Accepted 12 January 2009

The occurrence of genes conferring resistance to tetracyclines in the organic pig gut was assessed through the metagenomic approach. Of 9,000 bacterial artificial chromosome clones analyzed, 10 were identified as carrying the known tet(C), tet(W), and tet(40) genes, as well as novel genes encoding resistance to the tetracyclines minocycline and doxycycline. The latter are different from the known tet genes and are homologous to genes encoding UDP-glucose 4-epimerases, with the domain structure characteristic for these enzymes. The majority of the resistance genes were associated with putative mobile genetic elements. The sequence of a novel 9.7-kb plasmid carrying tet(W) and tet(40) was also identified. Conserved flanking regions identified around the tet(W) and tet(40) genes in our metagenomic library may play a role in genetic exchange of these genes. This is the first report describing the occurrence of tet(40) outside the human intestine. The maintenance of antibiotic resistance genes in apparently antibiotic-free animals is probably due to their presence on mobile genetic elements, the fitness cost of which for the cell is ameliorated during the previous antibiotic selection.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB21 9SB, United Kingdom. Phone: (44) 1224-716643. Fax: (44) 1224-716687. E-mail: r.aminov{at}abdn.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 23 January 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2009, p. 1717-1722, Vol. 75, No. 6
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02206-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»