In silico analysis of extended-spectrum β-lactamases in bacteria

Abstract

The growing bacterial resistance to available β-lactam antibiotics is a very serious public health problem, especially due to the production of a wide range of β-lactamases. At present, clinically important bacteria are increasingly acquiring new elements of resistance to carbapenems and polymyxins, including extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), carbapenemases and phos-phoethanolamine transferases of the MCR type. These bacterial enzymes limit therapeutic options in human and veterinary medicine. It must be emphasized that there is a real risk of losing the ability to treat serious and life-threatening infections. The present study aimed to design specific oligonucleotides for rapid PCR detection of ESBL-encoding genes and in silico analysis of selected ESBL enzymes. A total of 58 primers were designed to detect 49 types of different ESBL genes. After comparing the amino acid sequences of ESBLs (CTX-M, SHV and TEM), phylogenetic trees were created based on the presence of conserved amino acids and homologous motifs. This study indicates that the proposed primers should be able to specifically detect more than 99.8% of all described ESBL enzymes. The results suggest that the in silico tested primers could be used for PCR to detect the presence of ESBL genes in various bacteria, as well as to monitor their spread.