[Occurrence and characterisation of aac(6')-Ib-cr gene encoding fluoroquinolone-modifying enzyme in clinical ciprofloxacin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae strains isolated in Poland].

Introduction: The aac(6')-Ib-cr gene encodes a variant of aminoglycoside acetyltransferase that confers reduced susceptibility to hydrophilic fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin. AAC(6')-Ib-cr has two amino acid changes, Trp 102Arg and Asp179Tyr, which together are necessery and sufficient for the enzyme's ability to reduce the activity of fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevelance of aac(6')-Ib-cr determinant among 15 Enterobacteriaceae isolates randomly chosen from 215 fluorochinolone resistant strains recovered during the 6 months of 2010.

Methods: The aac(6')-Ib was detected by PCR. The presence of aac(6')-Ib-cr gene variant was futher identified by digestion with BseGI (BtsCI) and sequencing.

Results: 11/15 of the resistant (MIC CIP 2-1024 microg/ml) Enterobacteriaceae strains carried aac(6')-Ib-cr variant.

Conclusion: This is the first study identifying the variant of aminoglycoside acetyltransferase determinant in Poland. Our results demonstrate that this enzym may be even more widespread than Qnr determinants among fluoroquinolone resistant Enterobacteriaceae in Poland.