Absence of mgrB Alleviates Negative Growth Effects of Colistin Resistance in Enterobacter cloacae

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jessie E. Wozniak, Emory University; Aroon T. Chande, Georgia Institute of Technology; Eileen Burd, Emory University; Victor I. Band, Emory University; Sarah Satola, Emory University; Monica Farley, Emory University; Jesse Jacob, Emory University; I. King Jordan, Georgia Institute of Technology; David Weiss, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-11-19
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 by the authors.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110825
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Antibiotics
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 11
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was funded by National Institutes of Health grant AI141883 and by a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases award to D.S.W. The APC was funded by institutional funds.
• Keywords: CRE; colistin; Enterobacter
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Immunology; Biology, Bioinformatics; Biology, Cell

Abstract

Colistin is an important last-line antibiotic to treat highly resistant Enterobacter infections. Resistance to colistin has emerged among clinical isolates but has been associated with a significant growth defect. Here, we describe a clinical Enterobacter isolate with a deletion of mgrB, a regulator of colistin resistance, leading to high-level resistance in the absence of a growth defect. The identification of a path to resistance unrestrained by growth defects suggests colistin resistance could become more common in Enterobacter.