Comparative bioinformatics analysis of antimicrobial resistance gene pool in the genomes of representatives of genus Corynebacterium

Abstract

Currently, multidrug resistance of bacterial infectious agents poses a serious threat to the global public health. The following Corynebacterium strains are of special importance for infections, including hospital-acquired ones: C. amycolatum, C. urealyticum, C. striatum, C. jeikeium, C. aurimucosum, C. genitalium that are resistant to the broad spectrum of antimicrobial drugs. The study was aimed to conduct bioinformatics analysis of the pool of antimicrobial resistance genes in the published genomes of some members of the genus Corynebacterium. The data on the whole genome nucleotide sequences of 22 Corynebacterium isolates readily available from NCBI GenBank were assessed. Bioinformatics analysis of the whole genome sequences conducted in order to search for antimicrobial resistance genes in the specified genomes was performed using the PATRIC online resource. It was found that the genomes provided comprised various combinations of 25 antimicrobial drug resistance genes. Amino acid substitutions in GyrA (positions 87, 88 and 91) were revealed in some Corynebacterium strains, through which quinolone/fluoroquinolone resistance could be realized.