Amikacin resistance mediated by multiresistance transposon Tn2424

Abstract

Tn2424, a multiresistance transposon 25 kilobases long, was isolated from IncFII plasmid NR79. Tn2424 transposed resistance to sulfonamides, streptomycin and spectinomycin, mercuric chloride, chloramphenicol, and amikacin with a frequency of 6 x 10-5. Resistance to amikacin was mediated by a 6'-N-acetyltransferase, which conferred higher levels of resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa than in Escherichia coli. A restriction analysis and cloning experiments resulted in a physical and functional map of Tn2424. Comparison by a heteroduplex technique revealed that Tn2424 includes the total sequence of Tn21 and two additional DNA fragments that are 1.8 and 4 kilobases long.