Resistances to protein biosynthesis inhibitors in staphylococci: resistance genes and their spread - Review

The rapid spread of antibiotic resistances in a wide variety of bacteria is mainly due to the location of antibiotic resistance genes on mobile genetic elements such as plasmids and transposons. Principal ways of transfer of plasmid- and transposon-encoded resistance genes are presented using examples of the predominant genes mediating resistances to protein biosynthesis inhibitors such as tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B antibiotics, and chloramphenicol in staphylococci. Transfer between different staphylococcal cells is substantially based on transduction, transformation, conjugation and mobilization while transfer of resistance genes within the same bacterial cell often includes interplasmidic recombination events and chromosomal integration of resistance plasmids or transposons, The abilities of the transferred resistance plasmids or transposons to integrate or to be integrated into DNA molecules, plasmids or chromosomal DNA, of the new host cell are of major importance to circumvent strain-, species-or genusspecific barriers such as restriction/modification systems, plasmid incompatibilities or deficiencies of plasmid replication which may limit efficient resistance gene transfer.