Analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of an Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae streptomycin-sulfonamide resistance plasmid, pMS260.

pMS260 is an 8.1-kb non-conjugative but mobilizable plasmid that was isolated from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and encodes streptomycin (SM) and sulfonamide (SA) resistances. The analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of the plasmid revealed a high degree of similarity between pMS260 and the broad-host-range IncQ family plasmids. pMS260 had a single copy of an origin of vegetative replication (oriV). This sequence was identical to a functional oriV of the IncQ-like plasmid pIE1130 that had been exogenously isolated from piggery manure. However, pMS260 did not carry the second IncQ plasmid RSF1010-like oriV region present in pIE1130. A pIE1130-identical transfer origin was also found in pMS260. In addition, the deduced amino acid sequences from 10 open reading frames identified in pMS260 were entirely or nearly identical to those from genes for the replication, mobilization, and SM-SA resistance of pIE1130, indicating that pMS260 belongs to the IncQ-1 gamma subgroup. pMS260 is physically indistinguishable from pIE1130 apart from two DNA regions that contain the chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance genes (catIII and aphI, respectively) and the second oriV-like region of pIE1130. The codon bias analysis of each gene of pIE1130 and the presence of potential recombination sites in the sulII-strA intergenic regions suggest that pIE1130 seems to have acquired the catIII and aphI genes more recently than the other genes of pIE1130. Therefore, pMS260 may be the ancestor of pIE1130. Information regarding the broad-host-range replicon of pMS260 will be useful in the development of genetic systems for a wide range of bacteria including A. pleuropneumoniae.