Genomic Analysis of Acinetobacter baumannii A118 by Comparison of Optical Maps: Identification of Structures Related to its Susceptibility Phenotype.

. RAMÍREZ MS, ADAMS MD, BONOMO RA, CENTRÓN D, TOLMASKY ME.

ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY

Lugar: wASHINGTON dc; Año: 2011 vol. 55 p. 1520 - 1526

0066-4804

Acinetobacter baumannii A118, a naturally competent clinical isolate, is unusually susceptible to several antibiotics. Comparison of the optical map of strain A118 with in silico generated restriction maps of sequenced genomes and sequence analyses showed that the AbaR region, commonly found inserted within the comM gene in other isolates, is missing in strain A118, which could in part explain the susceptibility phenotype exhibited by this isolate. These comparative studies also showed differences at regions where genes coding for functions that may be involved in drug resistance or susceptibility are located. Further sequencing demonstrated that cat and ampC, whose product has been named ADC-55, are present but a tetA gene usually found in other strains is not. In addition the carO and pbp2, which may play a role in susceptibility to carbapenems are present in strain A118. These findings support the idea that A. baumannii strains posses multiple mechanisms that contribute to antibiotic resistance and the presence of some of them is not sufficient for a resistant phenotype. The results showed here indicate that optical mapping is a useful tool for preliminary comparative genomic analysis.