Infection and Drug Resistance (May 2022)
Mutation of TonB-Dependent Receptor Encoding Gene MCR_0492 Potentially Associates with Macrolides Resistance in Moraxella catarrhalis Isolates
Abstract
Zhen Zhang,1 Zhulan Yang,2 Xiaohong Xiang,3 Pu Liao,1 Changchun Niu1 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Chongqing General Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Pharmacy, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Changchun Niu; Pu Liao, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Moraxella catarrhalis, which is an opportunistic pathogen and is one of the three major pathogens of community-acquired pneumonia, causes a variety of infections in clinic. In recent years, the isolation rate of Moraxella catarrhalis has gradually increased. In China, due to the clinical empirical use of antibiotics, the resistance rate of Moraxella catarrhalis isolated from children to β-lactam antibiotics has reached 99%. The non-susceptible rate of Moraxella catarrhalis to macrolide antibiotics has also increased significantly.Methods: Two isolates of Moraxella catarrhalis (R17123922_R and R18013231_R) were isolated from in-patients and were confirmed to be resistant to macrolide antibiotics using the standard disk diffusion and broth microdilution method recommended by CLSI. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis was performed in these two resistant strains.Results: A total of 696 SNVs (single nucleotide variations), and 79 indels (Insertion and Deletion) were found in R17123922_R and R18013231_R. These SNVs and indels were distributed evenly in the genome, and no centralized distribution occurred. Moreover, two isolates did not harbor any previously reported mutations in the 23S rRNA and ribosomal proteins.Conclusion: A novel indel in the MCR_0492 gene encoding TonB-dependent receptor protein was identified, and we speculated that TonB-dependent protein receptor may play an important role in macrolide resistance of Moraxella catarrhalis.Keywords: Moraxella catarrhalis, macrolides, mechanism of drug resistance, whole-genome sequencing
