Role of Mutation in the GyrA and ParC Genes of Nalidixic-acid-resistant Salmonella Serotypes Isolated from Animals in the United Kingdom

To answer the question as to whether isolates of salmonella from animals with decreased susceptibility to quinolones possess the same mechanism of resistance as isolates from humans, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 347 base pair fragment equivalent to codons 39-159 covering the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of the gyrA gene of Salmonella typhimurium NCTC 74, and 196 veterinary isolates of 26 serotypes of salmonella (109 from turkeys, 29 from chickens, the remainder from cattle, parrots, pigs, dogs, a pigeon, an exotic bird, a duck, a partridge, a sheep, a horse and environmental samples including litter, a nest and water). All PCR products were electrophoresed for single-stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP). The DNA sequence of all eight novel SSCP patterns was determined. Nucleotide substitutions were identified in the gyrA gene of all except two isolates; all substitutions conferred a substitution at serine 83 or aspartate 87, as has previously been shown for isolates from humans. No mutations conferring an amino acid substitution in parC (the gene encoding the secondary target for quinolones) were revealed in the 48 isolates requiring 0.5-1 mg/L ciprofloxacin for inhibition, or the isolates for which no mutation in gyrA was revealed. The accumulation of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was determined for 30 representative isolates (of which five were multiply drug resistant). Five isolates accumulated one-quarter to one-half the concentration achieved by the corresponding wild-type serotype. For two of these five isolates no mutation in gyrA was revealed, and one lacked OmpF.