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JAC Advance Access originally published online on February 28, 2007
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2007 59(4):600-606; doi:10.1093/jac/dkm008
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Identification and characterization of nine novel types of small staphylococcal plasmids carrying the lincosamide nucleotidyltransferase gene lnu(A)

P. Lüthje1, M. von Köckritz-Blickwede2 and S. Schwarz1,*

1 Institut für Tierzucht, Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft (FAL), Höltystr. 10, 31535 Neustadt-Mariensee, Germany 2 Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany

* Corresponding author. Tel: +49-5034-871-241; Fax: +49-5034-871-246; E-mail: stefan.schwarz{at}fal.de

Received 25 October 2006; returned 21 November 2006; revised 11 January 2007; accepted 14 January 2007


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Objectives: To date, very little is known about lincosamide resistance plasmids in staphylococci with only a single lnu(A)-carrying staphylococcal plasmid having been sequenced completely. The aim of this study was to characterize small lnu(A)-carrying plasmids isolated from bovine coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS).

Methods: Nine CoNS isolates with MICs of the lincosamide pirlimycin of 1–4 mg/L were tested for the presence of the lnu(A) gene. Its location was determined by Southern-blot hybridization. The lnu(A)-carrying plasmids were transformed into Staphylococcus aureus RN4220 and compared by restriction mapping and subsequent sequencing. Selected plasmids were investigated for their copy number and their lnu(A) gene expression via RT real-time PCR.

Results: The lnu(A) gene was detected on plasmids in all isolates. Sequence analysis revealed that these plasmids carried a rep gene, coding for the replication initiator protein, and the resistance gene lnu(A), coding for a lincosamide nucleotidyltransferase. While the Lnu(A) proteins were closely related (91.3–100% amino acid identity), the Rep proteins differed distinctly (27.4–100% amino acid identity), but showed similarity (81.4–98.5%) to Rep proteins of other small staphylococcal resistance plasmids. Sequence features of rolling-circle plasmids, such as the single-strand (ssoA) and double-strand (dso) origins of replication, were identified. For two plasmid types detected, the lincosamide resistance level varied with regard to the amounts of lnu(A) transcripts detected.

Conclusions: Structurally different lnu(A)-carrying plasmids were detected in various CoNS species. The detection of the same lnu(A) gene in different plasmid backbones suggested the exchange of the gene via interplasmid recombinational events.

Keywords: coagulase-negative staphylococci , bovine mastitis , pirlimycin , resistance


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The lincosamide antibiotic pirlimycin is licensed for the treatment of bovine subclinical mastitis caused by Gram-positive cocci. Subclinical mastitis plays an important role in the dairy industry due to decreased milk production and increased somatic cell count.1 In contrast to Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are more often the causative agents of subclinical mastitis than of clinical forms of the disease. Resistance against lincosamides may be associated with simultaneous resistance against macrolides and streptogramin B. This resistance phenotype is based on target site modification via 23S rRNA methylases.2–4 The corresponding erm genes are well investigated with regard to their distribution among staphylococci and their regulation of gene expression.2,3 In addition, enzymatic inactivation of lincosamides is based on the activity of lincosamide nucleotidyltransferases of which four different types, Lnu(A),5 Lnu(B),6 Lnu(C)7 and Lnu(F),8 are currently known (for a continuously updated list of lnu genes, please refer to http://faculty.washington.edu/marilynr/).

Among them, only Lnu(A)—formerly known as LinA or LinA'—has been identified in staphylococci.5 Actually, there are only a few lnu(A) sequences deposited in the databases,5,9,10 and only a single lnu(A)-carrying plasmid, pBMSa1 isolated from a bovine S. aureus, has been sequenced completely.10 This plasmid replicates via the rolling-circle mechanism like many small plasmids in Gram-positive bacteria.11 The replication system of such plasmids consists of a replication initiator protein Rep and its corresponding nick site within the double-strand origin of replication (dso). The start sequence for conversion of the single-stranded intermediate to a second double-stranded molecule is located in the single-strand origin (sso). On the basis of similarities of this system, rolling-circle replication plasmids are subdivided into four families, represented by the prototype plasmids pT181, pC194, pSN2 and pE194.11

In this study, we identified nine novel types of lnu(A)-carrying plasmids from bovine CoNS associated with subclinical mastitis which ranged in size between ~2.3 and 3.8 kb. We sequenced them completely and compared them for sequence features of rolling-circle replication plasmids. Two structurally closely related lnu(A)-carrying plasmids which conferred different levels of lincosamide resistance in the same recipient strain were investigated for the differences in lnu(A) gene expression and plasmid copy number.


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Bacterial isolates

The nine isolates described in this study (Table 1) originated from a survey conducted on 298 CoNS isolates from cases of bovine subclinical mastitis, which had been isolated between 2003 and 2005 in Germany.12 The MICs of pirlimycin, lincomycin and clindamycin were determined by broth micro- or macrodilution according to CLSI (formerly NCCLS) document M31-A2.12–14 The MIC results were confirmed by at least three independently performed tests.


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  		Table 1.. Plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 and MIC values of different lincosamides

 
DNA isolation and manipulation

Plasmid DNA was isolated following standard protocols. Plasmids were mapped with the following restriction enzymes (Fermentas GmbH, St.Leon-Rot, Germany): ClaI, BclI, EcoRI, EcoRV, HindIII, HpaI, MspI, NdeI, PvuI, SpeI, SspI and XbaI. The digested samples were separated on 1–1.5% agarose gels. For generating a deletion derivative of pLNU9, the plasmid was digested with XbaI and the largest of the two fragments religated in the presence of 6 U of T4 DNA ligase (Fermentas) at 16°C overnight (Figure 1).


Figure 1
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  		Figure 1.. Organization of the lnu(A)-carrying plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 and pBMSa1. The rep and lnu(A) genes are indicated by arrows, and the single-strand origin (ssoA) and the double-strand origin (dso) are shown as black boxes. Restriction enzymes are abbreviated as follows: C, ClaI; E, EcoRI; EV, EcoRV; Hp, HpaI; H, HindIII; M, MspI; Nd, NdeI; N, NsiI; P, PvuI; Sp, SpeI; S, SspI; X, XbaI. The location of the direct repeats found in each plasmid is indicated on the map of pLNU1. For pLNU9, the region deleted in pLNU9{Delta} is shown below the map. The putative promoter sequences for lnu(A) are indicated as black triangles including a white P.

 
Preparation of whole cell lysates

To estimate plasmid copy numbers, whole cell lysates were prepared according to a previously described protocol.15 In brief, cells were grown to equal optical density, pelleted by centrifugation and resuspended in lysis buffer containing RNase (5 U/mL), lysostaphin (25 mg/L), 10 mM EDTA, 20 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 100 mM NaCl and 20% sucrose. The samples were incubated at 37°C for 30 min. After adding 100 µL of 2% SDS and vortexing for 60 s, the samples were thawed and frozen twice. Proteins were digested by incubation at 37°C for 30 min in the presence of proteinase K (10 mg/L). The DNA was separated by gel electrophoresis (26 V for the first hour and 40 V for another 4 h) on 1% agarose gels and stained with ethidium bromide. The intensity of the plasmid DNA in relation to the intensity of the chromosomal DNA was determined by use of the Quantity One®-1-D analysis software (Bio-Rad, Munich, Germany) to calculate the copy number of the plasmids.15

Total RNA isolation and reverse transcription

For RNA isolation, bacteria were lysed in 1 mL of Trizol reagent (Invitrogen Life Technologies, Karlsruhe, Germany) with 0.4 mL of zirconia-silica beads (diameter 0.1 mm; Roth, Karlsruhe, Germany) in a Mini-BeadbeaterTM (Biospec Products, Bartlesville, USA). Isolation of RNA then followed the guidelines of the manufacturer of Trizol. Contaminating DNA was removed by incubating 30 µg of RNA in the presence of 1.5 mM MgCl2, 80 U of RNase Out (Invitrogen) and 50 U of DNaseI (Fermentas) at 37°C for 30 min. Finally, the RNA was precipitated with 3 M Na-acetate overnight at – 80°C in the presence of glycogen (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) and ethanol (100%) and afterwards washed twice with ethanol (80%).16 The cDNA was synthesized from samples of 5 µg of DNaseI-treated total RNA using RevertAidTM H Minus M-MuLV Reverse Transcriptase and random primers according to recommendations of the manufacturer (Fermentas).

PCR amplification and real-time PCR assays

The lnu(A) gene was detected by PCR according to a previously described protocol with the primers LnuA-forw (5'-GGTGGCTGGGGGGTAGATGTATTAACTGG-3') and LnuA-rev (5'-GCTTCTTTTGAAATACATGGTATTTTTCGATC-3').17 For detection of the 16S rRNA, the primer pair 16S RNA1 (5'-GAAAGCCACGGCTAACTACG-3')/16S RNA2 (5'-CATTTCACCGCTACACATGG-3') was used. Real-time PCR was performed using the SYBR® Green system (Applied Biosystems, Darmstadt, Germany) according to the recommendations of the manufacturer. Real-time PCR conditions included an initial Taq polymerase activation at 95°C for 120 s followed by 55 three-step cycles consisting of 60 s denaturation at 95°C, 60 s annealing at 50°C for the 16S rRNA gene or 55°C for lnu(A), 60 s extension at 72°C followed by 300 s at 70°C and finally 90 s at 60°C. A melting curve was generated for verification of the specificity of the amplification product. Sequenced clones carrying the gene-specific amplicons were used as standards. The 16S rRNA was used as an internal reference.

Southern-blot hybridization and transformation experiments

Uncut plasmid DNA was separated by gel electrophoresis and transferred from agarose gels to nylon membranes (Roth) using the capillary blot procedure. The cloned lnu(A) amplicon was labelled using the DIG-High Prime DNA labelling and detection system and used as a gene probe. Hybridization and signal detection followed the recommendations of the manufacturer (Roche). The lnu(A)-carrying plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 (Table 1) as well as the deletion variant of pLNU9, designated pLNU9{Delta}, were transformed into S. aureus RN4220 by electrotransformation as previously described,12 and transformants were selected on blood agar plates containing 0.25 mg/L pirlimycin.

Sequencing of lnu(A)-carrying plasmids

Plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 were either sequenced by primer walking starting with the primers LnuA-forw and LnuA-rev, or plasmids were digested with suitable enzymes and cloned into pBluescript II SK + (Stratagene, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) for sequence analysis with standard primers. The nucleotide sequences of the plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 have been deposited in the EMBL database under accession numbers AM184099 [GenBank] (pLNU1), AM184100 [GenBank] (pLNU2), AM184101 [GenBank] (pLNU3), AM184102 [GenBank] (pLNU4), AM399079 [GenBank] (pLNU5), AM399083 [GenBank] (pLNU6), AM399081 [GenBank] (pLNU7), AM399080 [GenBank] (pLNU8) and AM399082 [GenBank] (pLNU9).


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MIC values and location of lnu(A)

The nine lnu(A)-carrying CoNS isolates differed distinctly in their MICs of the three lincosamides tested. MICs of pirlimycin ranged between 1 and 4 mg/L, while those of lincomycin were considerably higher at 32 to ≥ 128 mg/L and those of clindamycin low at 0.12–0.5 mg/L (Table 1). In all nine isolates, the lnu(A) gene was located on plasmids as confirmed by Southern-blot hybridization. These plasmids ranged in size between ~2.3–3.8 kb. After transformation into S. aureus RN4220, the nine plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9, which differed in size, restriction map and/or MICs of lincosamide antibiotics, were subjected to sequence analysis (Table 1).

Characterization of lnu(A)-carrying plasmids

All nine plasmids harboured two divergently transcribed open reading frames (ORFs) (Figure 1). The larger ORF coded for replication proteins of either 281 amino acids [pLNU1 (Rep1) and pLNU9 (Rep9)] or 334 amino acids [pLNU2–pLNU8 (Rep2–Rep8)]. Rep1 and Rep9 showed highest similarities of 81.4% and 84.6%, respectively, to the Rep protein of the 3.5 kb smr-carrying plasmid pSW49 from S. warneri (accession number AM040730 [GenBank] ). Rep2 exhibited 86.1% similarity to Rep protein of the 2.8 kb qacC-carrying plasmid pST827 from Staphylococcus sp. (Z37964 [GenBank] ),18 Rep3 (93.7%) and Rep8 (91.9%) to Rep of the 2.6 kb lnu(A)-carrying plasmid pBMSa1 from S. aureus (AY541446 [GenBank] ),10 Rep4–Rep6 (95.5–95.8%) to the replication protein of the 2.4 kb qacC-carrying plasmid pSK108 from S. epidermidis (U15783 [GenBank] )19 and finally Rep7 (98.5%) to the Rep protein of the 2.3 kb qacG-carrying staphylococcal plasmid pST94 (Y16944 [GenBank] ). All these plasmids have been grouped into the pC194 family according to their organization and to sequence similarities of their replication system.11

The smaller ORF for a lincosamide nucleotidyltransferase of 161 amino acids showed high similarity (92.8–100%) to the sequenced lnu(A) genes encoded by plasmids pIP855 of S. haemolyticus and pIP856 of S. aureus.5,9 In contrast to the deduced amino acid sequences of the Rep proteins, the amino acid sequences of Lnu(A)1–Lnu(A)9 were either indistinguishable (100%) or differed only slightly from each other (91.3–99.4%) (Figure 2). In plasmids pLNU2–pLNU8, a putative promoter region for lnu(A), TTGATT (–35) as well as TAGTAT or TATGAT (–10), was located within the 5' end of the rep gene (Figure 1). A similar promoter sequence at that location has been described for the lnu(A) genes carried on plasmids pIP855 and pBMSa1.9,10 Analogous arrangements are found for smr/qac genes carried by small staphylococcal plasmids with rep genes highly similar to those found on the lnu(A)-carrying plasmids investigated in this study.19,20 In plasmids pLNU1 and pLNU9, this promoter region TTGATT (–35) and TATACT (–10) was located ~40 bp upstream of the rep gene (Figure 1).


Figure 2
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  		Figure 2.. Homology trees of the Lnu(A) and the Rep proteins of the plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 and plasmid pBMSa1 based on multisequence alignment produced with DNAMAN software (Lynnon-BioSoft, Ontario, Canada). Lnu(A)9-1 and Lnu(A)9-2 refer to the two copies of the lnu(A) gene carried by plasmid pLNU9.

 
The lnu(A) gene was bracketed by non-coding sequences which are homologous to those found in other rolling-circle plasmids. These were the double-strand origin of replication (dso) upstream of lnu(A),21 and the palindromic single-strand origin of replication (ssoA) downstream of the lnu(A) gene.22 The latter one also contained the staphylococcal recombination site RSB. In plasmids pLNU3 and pLNU6, the ssoA sequence contained at its 3' end a 14 and 28 bp duplication, respectively. In all nine plasmids, two pairs of previously described direct repeats, 5'-AAACGAGTT-3' [upstream of lnu(A)] and 5'-AATAAAGCAAT-3' [downstream of lnu(A)],20,23 were found at the junctions between dso or ssoA and the lnu(A) gene (Figure 1).

Different MIC values conferred by different lnu(A)-carrying plasmids

Variants of structurally similar plasmids conferred different MIC values of the tested lincosamides in their natural host as well as in the recipient strain S. aureus RN4220. To eliminate any influence arising from the original host bacteria, the S. aureus RN4220 transformants were chosen for further analysis. Plasmids pLNU4 and pLNU5 carried almost identical rep (96.6%) and lnu(A) (99.2%) genes in very similar plasmid backgrounds, but mediated distinctly different MIC values of pirlimycin (16 mg/L for S. aureus RN4220::pLNU5 versus 1 mg/L for S. aureus RN4220::pLNU4) and lincomycin (≥128 mg/L for RN4220::pLNU5 versus 32 mg/L for S. aureus RN4220::pLNU4) (Table 1).

A closer comparison of Rep and Lnu(A) proteins of these two plasmids revealed the following variations: The Rep protein of pLNU4 differed from that of pLNU5 in five amino acids (R102, K124, Q134, S203 and D212 in pLNU4 versus K102, R124, R134, N203 and N212 in pLNU5), but highly conserved residues with catalytic activity24,25 were not affected by these substitutions. For Lnu(A), three amino acid exchanges were observed (D10, G126 and K149 in pLNU4 versus E10, D126 and T149 in pLNU5). Again, these alterations did not affect the active domains of the nucleotidyltransferase.5

Visual inspection of the gel electrophoretically separated whole cell lysates suggested a higher copy number of plasmid pLNU5 as compared to pLNU4 (Figure 3). The densitometric analysis of the copy numbers, which should be considered only as a rough estimate, revealed a more than 10-fold higher copy number for plasmid pLNU5. Low plasmid copy numbers were also determined for plasmids pLNU2 and pLNU3 which exhibited pirlimycin MICs of 1 or 2 mg/L and lincomycin MICs of 32 or 64 mg/L in the recipient strain S. aureus RN4220 (Table 1). Real-time PCR showed an ~150-fold higher amount of lnu(A) transcripts in S. aureus RN4220::pLNU5 compared with S. aureus RN4220::pLNU4.


Figure 3
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  		Figure 3.. Whole cell DNA preparations. C, chromosomal DNA; P, plasmid DNA; lane 5, preparation of RN4220::pLNU5; lane 4, preparation of RN4220::pLNU4.

 
Duplication of lnu(A) in pLNU9

In plasmid pLNU9, a region of 1050 bp was almost perfectly duplicated (98.7% identity). This region included the lnu(A) gene and its flanking regions, also comprising sequences involved in replication and recombination functions. The dso was not completely duplicated and only one replication nick site was present in the entire sequence of pLNU9. Although two copies of the lnu(A) gene might suggest a higher level of resistance, the MIC of pirlimycin was relatively low at 8 mg/L. XbaI digestion and religation of the largest fragment caused a deletion of one copy of this duplicated segment. This deletion derivative pLNU9{Delta}, which carried only one copy of the lnu(A) gene, showed a 4-fold elevated MIC of pirlimycin of 32 mg/L while the MICs of lincomycin and clindamycin remained unchanged. Since plasmid pLNU9 already conferred a lincomycin MIC of ≥ 128 mg/L, we have not been able to detect any further increases in the lincomycin MIC by using a concentration of 64 mg/L as upper limit. The observation that pLNU9 and pLNU9{Delta} were present in virtually the same copy number suggested that the deletion of one copy of lnu(A) including its flanking regions did not have an impact on the plasmid copy number.


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The lnu(A)-carrying staphylococci investigated in this study exhibited low to moderate MIC values to pirlimycin (1–4 mg/L), but higher MIC values of lincomycin (32 to ≥ 128 mg/L). In contrast, the lnu(A)-carrying original strains as well as the corresponding S. aureus RN4220 transformants showed distinctly lower MICs of clindamycin (Table 1). This phenomenon is thought to depend on a relatively higher affinity of clindamycin to the ribosomal RNA than to the degrading enzyme.7

Sequence homologies and gene arrangements classified the nine novel lnu(A)-carrying plasmids pLNU1–pLNU9 as new members of the pC194 family11 of rolling-circle replicating plasmids. Closely related lnu(A) genes (92.8–100% identity) were found in different plasmid backbones as specified by variable rep genes (47.9–100% identity) and flanking regions (Figure 2). Plasmids pLNU1 and pLNU9 differed in their replication genes from plasmids pLNU2–pLNU8. Cassette-like structures, which are probably exchangeable between plasmids and comprise different resistance genes, the replication nick site within the dso and the ssoA, have already been reported for members of the pC194 family.11 This assumption explains the observation that identical resistance genes occur in combination with different replication genes and vice versa. Since the flanking regions of lnu(A), the ssoA and the dso sequences, form the boundaries of the resistance determinants, recombination processes based on these structures can be suggested. This is supported by the observation that the same pair of direct repeats (5'-AAACGAGTT-3' and 5'-AATAAAGCAAT-3') were present not only in the lnu(A)-carrying plasmids, but also in other resistance plasmids of staphylococci. They may play a role in exchange processes via illegitimate recombination.20,23

Differences in MIC values mediated by a constitutively expressed, plasmid-borne resistance gene, such as lnu(A),26 may depend on (i) a higher enzymatic activity of the enzyme, (ii) a higher expression rate of the gene due to a stronger promoter or (iii) a higher amount of gene transcripts due to a higher plasmid copy number. Differences in Lnu(A) activity appear unlikely, because the few amino acid substitutions observed did not affect the active centre of the enzyme. The higher amount of lnu(A) transcripts in pLNU5 as compared to pLNU4 might be an explanation for the higher level of resistance conferred by pLNU5. However, a comparison of the promoter sequences did not reveal differences, suggesting that mutations in the promoter that up-regulate lnu(A) gene expression can be excluded. The observation that plasmid pLNU5 was present in a higher copy number than pLNU4 (Figure 3) could be a plausible explanation for the higher amount of lnu(A) transcripts and consequently for the higher level of resistance. The observation that other plasmids which also mediated comparatively low MICs of pirlimycin and lincomycin were also present only as very faint plasmid bands in whole cell lysates (data not shown) suggests that the plasmid copy number might contribute to the observed varying levels of resistance. Other factors, possibly involved in this phenomenon, remain to be determined.

In contrast to this situation, a change in the plasmid copy number obviously did not account for the elevated MIC of pirlimycin in S. aureus RN4220::pLNU9{Delta}. Although the reason for the 4-fold decreased MIC of pirlimycin conferred by pLNU9 in comparison to pLNU9{Delta} remains to be clarified, this example showed that more than one copy of the lnu(A) gene on the same plasmid does not necessarily result in elevated MICs of lincosamides.

In conclusion, lnu(A) confers varying levels of resistance to different lincosamides such as pirlimycin and lincomycin in the tested CoNS and the S. aureus transformants. The gene is mainly carried by small plasmids of the pC194 family of rolling-circle plasmids. Interplasmid exchange of this gene seems to occur easily, as illustrated by its presence in different plasmid backbones. This diversity may facilitate the acquisition of lnu(A)-carrying plasmids and their stable maintenance in a new bacterial host. Since the gene lnu(A) mediates only low-level resistance or increased insensitivity to the lincosamide pirlimycin, the presence of a CoNS strain carrying this resistance gene and causing mastitis in dairy cattle does not justify drastic management options such as culling of the affected cow. The same is true for strains expressing high-level MLSB resistance via erm genes. As long as there are sufficient antimicrobial agents available to which the causative pathogen is susceptible, a therapeutic intervention should be attempted. A previous study revealed that resistance to macrolides and/or lincosamides among 298 CoNS was detected in < 7.5% of the isolates, most of which were also susceptible to all other mastitis agents tested.12 However, the situation may be different for causative strains which are resistant to penicillins and cephalosporins, e.g. methicillin-resistant CoNS, which may also show additional resistance to other classes of antibiotics. Such therapy-resistant strains represent a serious problem also in terms of dissemination of the pathogens to other cows of the same herd. If there is no possibility to eradicate the pathogen and cure the mastitis, culling of the affected animal should be taken into consideration.


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None to declare.


   Acknowledgements
 
P. L. is supported by a Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg-scholarship of the county Lower Saxony.


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13 National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. (2002) Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Disk and Dilution Susceptibility Tests for Bacteria Isolated from Animals—Second Edition: Approved Standard M31-A2.(NCCLS, Wayne, PA, USA).

14 National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. (2002) Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Disk and Dilution Susceptibility Tests for Bacteria Isolated from Animals: Informational Supplement M31-S1.(NCCLS, Wayne, PA, USA).

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17 Lina G, Quaglia A, Reverdy ME, et al. (1999) Distribution of genes encoding resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramins among staphylococci. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 43:1062–6.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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