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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancing Antibiotic Resistance Research Using an Efflux-Deficient Bacterial Strain and a Single-Copy Gene Expression System
Published on: January 5, 2024
Studies on Acinetobacter baumannii involving multiple mechanisms of carbapenem resistance
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Surgical Infections and Biofilms, Drexel University, Philadelphia, 19102, PA, USA.
Aims:
Characterize the genetic type and resistance mechanisms of 16 carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) isolates recovered between January 2010 and March 2011 from US tertiary-care hospital.
Methods And Results:
A modified Hodge test demonstrated the presence of carbapenemases, but meropenem and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) double-disc synergy tests and PCR for metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) genes were negative. The genes of ampC β-lactamase and efflux pump of adeABC and adeIJK were detected. The presence of oxacillinase (OXA)-like genes, blaOXA-51-like , blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-40-like genes, and insertion sequence ISAba1 in promoter region of blaOXA-51-like and blaOXA-23-like genes were detected; and confirmed by RT-PCR analyses. The sequencing of blaOXA-51-like genes revealed two major alleles, blaOXA-66-like (blaOXA-82 ) and blaOXA-113 from 31·2 to 68·8% of isolates respectively. The blaOXA-23 and blaOXA-72 genes showed high expression and found co-harbouring blaOXA-51-like gene preceded by ISAba-1. All CRAB isolates revealed significant reduction in carO transcription, indicated downregulation of CarO porin system, a potentially independent mechanism of carbapenam resistance. Sequencing of carO gene from representative isolates showed no ISAba1 insertional inactivation. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed a clonal relationship.
Conclusions:
CRAB exhibited diversity of mechanisms of carbapenem resistance, and clonal relationship.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Studies on distinct outbreaks of CRAB are alarming situation for clinicians.
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