A plasmid-mediated CMY-2 beta-lactamase from an Algerian clinical isolate of Salmonella senftenberg

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