Identification of an efflux pump gene, pmrA, associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Abstract

An open reading frame (ORF) homologous to norA was insertionally inactivated with cat in a fluoroquinolone-resistant pneumococcus with an efflux phenotype; this inactivation caused reversion to drug sensitivity. The ORF product has 24% amino acid sequence identity each to Nora and Bmr, which suggests that it is a major facilitator system pump of the 12-transmembrane- segment class.