African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (5), pp. 493-496, 5 March 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

TEM-145 and TEM-146 β-lactamases produced by Escherichia coli isolates from state hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Chunderika Mocktar¹*, Usha Govinden¹, Adrian Willem Sturm² and Sabiha Essack¹

¹School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa.

²Department of Medical Microbiology, Nelson R. Mandela Medical School, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: MOCKTARC@ukzn.ac.za. Tel: +27 31 260 7358. Fax: +27 31 260 7792.

Accepted 4 January, 2007

Two Escherichia coli isolates which were isolated from the urine of patients in state hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were investigated to determine the sequence of the TEM β-lactamases responsible for their resistance to β-lactamase inhibitors. The isolates were subjected to MIC determinations, iso-electric focusing analysis, plasmid analysis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of β-lactamase genes and sequencing of the bla_TEM. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences revealed the presence of two novel TEM β-lactamases, TEM-145 and TEM-146 which had the R244H mutation. Mutations at position 244 have been previously reported in other inhibitor-resistant TEMs (IRTs). 

Key words:  Escherichia coli, plasmid-mediated, TEM β-lactamase.