Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (1999) 44, 11-18
© 1999 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Identification and characterization of class 1 integrons in bacteria from an aquatic environment
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK
In a survey of 3000 Gram-negative bacteria isolated from an estuarine environment over a 2
month period, the incidence of class 1 integrons was determined to be 3.6%. Of 85
integrons
studied further, 11 lacked both the qacE
1and sulIgenes
usually present in the 3' conserved segment of the integron. The qacE1
and sulI genes were identified in the 3' conserved
segment of 36 integrons. The remaining 38 integrons lacked a sulI gene but contained a qacE gene. The variable region of 74 integrons was characterized by PCR and sequence
analysis. Forty of the integrons were found to lack integrated gene cassettes, although 21 of these
‘empty’ integrons were shown to contain inserted DNA which has been
tentatively identified as a novel insertion sequence (IS) element. Of the 34 integrons which
contained inserted gene cassettes, the aadA1a gene was found to be the most prevalent
(74%). Nineteen integrons contained additional or other gene cassettes in their variable
region,
including those encoding resistance to trimethoprim (dfr1a, dfrIIc, dfrV, dfrVII, dfrXII), chloramphenicol (catB3, catB5),
aminoglycosides (aadA2, aacA4, aacC1), ß-lactamases (oxa2) and erythromycin (ereA). This study confirms the occurrence of integrons in
bacteria from a natural habitat and
suggests that in the absence of continued antibiotic selective pressures, integrons which persist
appear to preferentially exist without integrated antibiotic resistance gene cassettes.
Present address. Institute of Biotechnology, University of
Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QT, UK.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44-(0)1382-344270; Fax: +44-(0)1382-344275; E-mail: h.k.young{at}dundee.ac.uk
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