Factors affecting gene expression following horizontal gene transfer studied using the blaIMP-1 gene cassette as a model system

Abstract

Antimicrobial drug resistance is an expanding world-wide problem causing increased mortality and morbidity as well as a considerable financial burden on health care services. Acquired resistant determinants represent themain contributor to drug resistance in bacteria. The IMP-1 metallo-B-lactamase is one of the most important emerging drug resistance mechanisms . IMP is normally encoded on a class 1 integron, and its expression is driven by the Pc integron promoter. The work reported in this thesis aimed to investigate factors that contribute to the expression of horizontally acquired genes using blaIMP-1 as a model system.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo