Abstract

Multiresistance to antibiotics including β-lactams, e.g. cefoxitin, was transferred by conjugation to Escherichia coli strain C1a from a clinical isolate of Salmonella senftenberg recovered from stools of an Algerian child. The susceptibility pattern to β-lactams was similar to the profile mediated by an AmpC-type β-lactamase. By biochemical analysis, typical AmpC-type enzyme substrate and inhibition profiles were obtained. Finally, an amp C plasmid-encoded β-lactamase gene was cloned and sequenced. Its deduced amino acid sequence confirmed its identity as a class C β-lactamase. It showed 99.5% sequence identity with the plasmid-mediated β-lactamase CMY-2. The differences in the amino acid sequences of the two enzymes were located in the signal peptide.

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