Structural and functional study of the phenicol-specific efflux pump FloR belonging to the major facilitator superfamily.

The florfenicol-chloramphenicol resistance gene floR from Salmonella enterica was previously identified and postulated to belong to the major facilitator (MF) superfamily of drug exporters. Here, we confirmed a computer-predicted transmembrane topological model of FloR, using the phoA gene fusion method, and classified this protein in the DHA12 family (containing 12 transmembrane domains) of MF efflux transporters. We also showed that FloR is a transporter specific for structurally associated phenicol drugs (chloramphenicol, florfenicol, thiamphenicol) which utilizes the proton motive force to energize an active efflux mechanism. By site-directed mutagenesis of specific charged residues belonging to putative transmembrane segments (TMS), two residues essential for active efflux function, D23 in TMS1 and R109 in TMS4, were identified. Of these, the acidic residue D23 seems to participate directly in the affinity pocket involved in phenicol derivative recognition. A third residue, E283 in TMS9, seems to be necessary for correct membrane folding of the transporter.

TolC but not AcrB is essential for multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium colonization of chicks.

OBJECTIVES: To study the role of the multidrug efflux system AcrAB-TolC in resistance of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) phage type DT104 and DT204 strains to detergents and bile salts. To evaluate the importance of the inner membrane transporter AcrB and the outer membrane component TolC of this efflux system in the colonization of two multidrug-resistant S. Typhimurium DT104 and one DT204 strain in chicks. METHODS: acrB and tolC mutants of multidrug-resistant S. Typhimurium DT104 and DT204 strains were constructed by insertional inactivation of the acrB gene and deletion of the tolC gene. MICs of detergent and bile salts were determined for the wild-type strains, the acrB and the tolC mutant strains, in presence and in absence of the efflux pump inhibitor Phe-Arg beta-naphthylamide. The effect of sodium choleate on the in vitro growth of these strains was also evaluated. The LD50s of the strains were measured in a day-old chicken model, inoculated with several doses (1 x 10(3) to 1 x 10(8) cfu) by the oral route, for 7 days post-inoculation. The colonization levels were assessed at the sublethal dose 7 days post-inoculation by determining the number of cfu of Salmonella in the faeces, caecum, spleen and liver. RESULTS: The decrease in resistance levels to bile salts was 64- to 256-fold higher for the tolC mutants than for the acrB mutants relative to those of the parental strains. Addition of choleate in culture medium did not affect the growth of the wild-type strains or that of the acrB mutants, but inhibited completely the growth of the tolC mutants. The LD50s were 1.0 x 10(6) and 1.2 x 10(7) cfu for one wild-type S. Typhimurium DT104 strain and the acrB mutant, respectively, and were >1.0 x 10(8) for the tolC mutants or the S. Typhimurium DT204 strains. In contrast to the acrB mutants, the tolC mutants were unable to colonize the caecum, spleen and liver after 1 week of infection. Moreover, in most chicks, no intestinal excretion was detected for the tolC mutants. The colonization levels of the acrB mutants were not significantly different from those of the wild-type strains. CONCLUSIONS: TolC but not AcrB appears to be essential for multidrug-resistant S. Typhimurium DT104 and DT204 colonization of chicks, which is in accordance with their respective roles in resistance to detergents and bile salts. Therefore, TolC could be a better target than AcrB for the development of efflux pump inhibitors.

Overexpression of the multidrug efflux operon acrEF by insertional activation with IS1 or IS10 elements in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium DT204 acrB mutants selected with fluoroquinolones.

High-level fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium phage type DT204 has been previously shown to be essentially due to both multiple target gene mutations and active efflux by the AcrAB-TolC efflux system. In this study we show that in intermediatly resistant acrB-inactivated serovar Typhimurium DT204 mutants, high-level resistance to FQs can be restored on in vitro selection with FQs. In each FQ- resistant mutant selected from serovar Typhimurium DT204 acrB mutant strains, an insertion sequence (IS1 or IS10) was found integrated upstream of the acrEF operon, coding for AcrEF, an efflux pump highly homologous to AcrAB. In one of the strains, transposition of IS1 caused partial deletion of acrS, the putative local repressor gene of the acrEF operon. Sequence analysis showed that both IS1 and IS10 elements contain putative promoter sequences that might alter the expression of adjacent acrEF genes. Indeed, reverse transcription-PCR experiments showed an 8- to 10-fold increase in expression of acrF in these insertional mutants, relative to their respective parental strain, which correlated well with the resistance levels observed to FQs and other unrelated drugs. It is noteworthy that AcrEF did not contribute to the intrinsic drug resistance of serovar Typhimurium, since acrF deletion in wild-type strains did not result in any increase in drug susceptibility. Moreover, deletion of acrS did not cause any acrF overexpression or any decrease in drug susceptibility, suggesting that acrEF overexpression is mediated solely by the IS1 and IS10 promoter sequences and not by inactivity of AcrS. Southern blot experiments showed that the number of chromosomal IS1 and IS10 elements in the serovar Typhimurium DT204 genome was about 5 and 15 respectively. None were detected in epidemic serovar Typhimurium DT104 strains or in the serovar Typhimurium reference strain LT2. Carrying IS1 and/or IS10 elements in their chromosome may thus be a selective advantage for serovar Typhimurium DT204 strains as opposed to DT104 strains for which no high-level FQ resistance nor insertional mutations were found. Taken together, the results of the present study indicate that the IS1- or IS10- activated AcrEF efflux pump may relay AcrAB in serovar Typhimurium, and underline the importance of transposable elements in the acquisition of FQ and multidrug resistance.

Role of an acrR mutation in multidrug resistance of in vitro-selected fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Quinolone resistance in Salmonella spp. is usually attributed to both active efflux and mutations leading to modification of the target enzymes DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV. Here, we investigated the presence of mutations in the efflux regulatory genes of fluoroquinolone- and multidrug-resistant mutants of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) selected in vitro with enrofloxacin that both carried a mutation in the target gene gyrA and overproduced the AcrAB efflux pump. No mutations were detected in the global regulatory loci marRAB and soxRS for the four strains studied. A mutation in acrR, the local repressor of acrAB, was found for two ciprofloxacin-resistant selected-mutants, leading to duplication of amino acids Ile75 and Glu76. Complementation experiments with wild-type acrR showed that the mutation identified in acrR partially contributed to the increase in resistance levels to several unrelated antibiotics. The acrR mutation also contributed to acrAB overexpression as shown by RT-PCR. Thus, this study underlines the role of an acrR mutation, in addition to the mutation in gyrA, in the fluoroquinolone and multidrug resistance phenotype of S. Typhimurium mutants, through overexpression of acrAB.

AcrAB-TolC directs efflux-mediated multidrug resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium DT104.

Multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium definitive phage type 104 (DT104) strains harbor a genomic island, called Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1), which contains an antibiotic resistance gene cluster conferring resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines. They may be additionally resistant to quinolones. Among the antibiotic resistance genes there are two, i.e., floR and tet(G), which code for efflux pumps of the major facilitator superfamily with 12 transmembrane segments that confer resistance to chloramphenicol-florfenicol and the tetracyclines, respectively. In the present study we determined, by constructing acrB and tolC mutants, the role of the AcrAB-TolC multidrug efflux system in the multidrug resistance of several DT104 strains displaying additional quinolone resistance or not displaying quinolone resistance. This study shows that the quinolone resistance and the decreased fluoroquinolone susceptibilities of the strains are highly dependent on the AcrAB-TolC efflux system and that single mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region of gyrA are of little relevance in mediating this resistance. Overproduction of the AcrAB efflux pump, as determined by Western blotting with an anti-AcrA polyclonal antibody, appeared to be the major mechanism of resistance to quinolones. Moreover, chloramphenicol-florfenicol and tetracycline resistance also appeared to be highly dependent on the presence of AcrAB-TolC, since the introduction of mutations in the respective acrB and tolC genes resulted in a susceptible or intermediate resistance phenotype, according to clinical MIC breakpoints, despite the presence of the FloR and Tet(G) efflux pumps. Resistance to other antibiotics, ampicillin, streptomycin, and sulfonamides, was not affected in the acrB and tolC mutants of DT104 strains harboring SGI1. Therefore, AcrAB-TolC appears to direct efflux-mediated resistance to quinolones, chloramphenicol-florfenicol, and tetracyclines in multidrug-resistant S. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 strains.

Variant Salmonella genomic island 1 antibiotic resistance gene cluster containing a novel 3'-N-aminoglycoside acetyltransferase gene cassette, aac(3)-Id, in Salmonella enterica serovar newport.

Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) harbors an antibiotic resistance gene cluster and was previously identified in the multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium DT104, Agona, Paratyphi B, and Albany. This antibiotic resistance gene cluster is a complex class 1 integron and most often confers resistance to ampicillin (Ap), chloramphenicol (Cm)/florfenicol (Ff), streptomycin (Sm)/spectinomycin (Sp), sulfonamides (Su), and tetracycline (Tc) (ApCmFfSmSpSuTc profile). Recently, variant SGI1 antibiotic resistance gene clusters conferring different antibiotic resistance profiles have been identified in several S. enterica serovars and were classified as SGI1-A to -G. We identified a new variant SGI1 antibiotic resistance gene cluster in two multidrug-resistant S. enterica serovar Newport strains isolated from humans in France. In these strains, the Sm/Sp resistance gene cassette aadA2 inserted at the first attI1 site was replaced by two other aminoglycoside resistance gene cassettes. The first one contains a new resistance gene encoding an AAC(3)-I aminoglycoside 3-N-acetyltransferase that confers resistance to gentamicin (Gm) and sisomicin (Sc). This gene has been named aac(3)-Id. The second one harbors the Sm/Sp resistance gene aadA7. This gene cassette replacement in the SGI1 complex integron of serovar Newport strains constitutes a new variant SGI1 antibiotic resistance gene cluster named SGI1-H. The occurrence of SGI1 in different S. enterica serovars, now including serovar Newport, strengthens the hypothesis of horizontal transfer of SGI1.

Salmonella genomic island 1 multidrug resistance gene clusters in Salmonella enterica serovar Agona isolated in Belgium in 1992 to 2002.

Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) harbors a multidrug resistance (MDR) gene cluster which is a complex class 1 integron. Variant SGI1 MDR gene clusters conferring different MDR profiles have also been identified in several Salmonella enterica serovars and classified as SGI1-A to -F. A retrospective study was undertaken to characterize MDR regions from serovar Agona strains harboring SGI1 isolated from poultry in Belgium between 1992 and 2002. A total of 171 serovar Agona strains, displaying resistance to at least one antibiotic, were studied for the presence of SGI1. SGI1 was detected in 94 serovar Agona strains. The most prevalent variant was SGI1-A (85%), which harbors within the SGI1 complex class 1 integron a common region (CR1) containing orf513, a putative transposase gene, adjacent to the dfrA10 trimethoprim resistance gene. A new variant SGI1 named SGI1-G was identified in two strains. It consisted of the pse-1 gene cassette, as in SGI1-B, but with additional insertion of the orf513/dfrA10 region structure. Seven strains displaying the typical SGI1 MDR profile (Ap Cm Ff Sm Sp Su Tc) showed genetic variation at the 3' end of SGI1. These strains harbored the insertion of the CR1 containing orf513 as in SGI1-A, -D, and -G. However, downstream the right end of CR1, they presented different 7.4- to 8.5-kb deletions of the SGI1 3' end that extended to the chromosomal genes yieE and yieF. These results suggest a possible role of CR1 in deletion formation, as has been reported for some insertion sequences. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that all the serovar Agona SGI1-carrying strains belonged to a single clone. Thus, SGI1 is largely encountered in serovar Agona strains isolated from poultry in Belgium, the most prevalent variant being SGI1-A. SGI1 MDR region undergoes recombinational events resulting in a diversity of MDR gene clusters.

Relative contribution of target gene mutation and efflux to fluoroquinolone and erythromycin resistance, in French poultry and pig isolates of Campylobacter coli.

Thirty-eight avian and swine French isolates of Campylobacter coli were studied for their mechanisms of co-resistance to fluoroquinolones and erythromycin. A Thr86Ile modification of GyrA, responsible for fluoroquinolone resistance, was found in all the strains. Two different levels of resistance to erythromycin (MIC of 8-16 or >/=256 mg/l) were observed. A A2075G mutation in the 23S rRNA genes was found only in the highly-resistant strains. Phe-Arg-beta-naphthylamide, an efflux pump inhibitor, potentiated erythromycin in all the strains examined but restored susceptibility only in the strains with a low-level of resistance. This suggests the involvement of efflux in intrinsic and in acquired low-level of resistance to erythromycin in C. coli.

Plasmid-mediated florfenicol and ceftriaxone resistance encoded by the floR and bla(CMY-2) genes in Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Newport isolated in the United States.

Multidrug resistance plasmids carrying the bla(CMY-2) gene have been identified in Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Newport from the United States. This gene confers decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone, and is most often found in strains with concomitant resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. The bla(CMY-2)-carrying plasmids studied here were shown to also carry the florfenicol resistance gene, floR, on a genetic structure previously identified in Escherichia coli plasmids in Europe. These data indicate that the use of different antimicrobial agents, including phenicols, may serve to maintain multidrug resistance plasmids on which extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance determinants co-exist with other resistance genes in Salmonella.

Role of TolC and parC mutation in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium DT204.

OBJECTIVES: To study the role of TolC and of parC mutation in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in clonal clinical strains of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium phage type DT204 (S. Typhimurium DT204). METHODS: Deletion of the tolC gene (DeltatolC) was first performed in a susceptible S. Typhimurium DT104 strain lacking target gene mutations involved in fluoroquinolone resistance. P22 transduction was further used to transduce DeltatolC from this strain to a high-level fluoroquinolone-resistant S. Typhimurium DT204 strain carrying several target gene mutations, including one in parC (ciprofloxacin MIC of 32 mg/L). RESULTS: Deletion of tolC in the high-level fluoroquinolone-resistant S. Typhimurium DT204 strain resulted in the same decrease in resistance levels (16- to 32-fold) as shown previously for an acrB mutant of the same strain, suggesting that AcrAB-TolC is the main efflux system involved in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance of S. Typhimurium DT204 strains. In some S. Typhimurium DT204 DeltatolC transductants, concomitant loss of the parC (Ser-80-->Ile) mutation, located approximately 9.3 kb upstream of tolC, resulted in a further 16- to 32-fold decrease in resistance levels to fluoroquinolones and thus a hypersusceptible phenotype (ciprofloxacin MIC of 0.063 mg/L). CONCLUSION: The AcrAB-TolC efflux system, together with multiple target gene mutations, including the parC mutation, appear essential to confer high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in S. Typhimurium DT204.

Fitness cost of fluoroquinolone resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

High-level fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance is still infrequent in salmonellae, compared with other pathogenic enterobacteria. Data provided in this work support the hypothesis that the mechanisms that confer high-level FQ resistance on salmonellae have a prohibitive fitness cost and may thus limit the emergence of highly resistant clones. In vitro mutants that were highly resistant to ciprofloxacin (MIC = 8 and 16 micro g ml(-1)) showed generation times 1.4- and 2-fold longer than their parent strains and were unable to colonize the gut of chickens. Electron microscopy showed an altered morphology for one of these mutants grown to stationary phase. Mutants selected in vivo and exhibiting intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin (MIC = 2 micro g ml(-1)) also showed growth defects on solid media but had normal generation times in liquid culture and colonized the gut of chickens. After in vitro or in vivo passage in the absence of antibiotic selective pressure, partial reversals of the fitness cost were observed, which were associated with slight decreases in resistance to quinolones and other unrelated antibiotics, but were not linked to the loss of gyrA mutations.

Variant Salmonella genomic island 1 antibiotic resistance gene cluster in Salmonella enterica serovar Albany.

Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) contains an antibiotic resistance gene cluster and has been previously identified in multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium DT104, Agona, and Paratyphi B. We identified a variant SGI1 antibiotic-resistance gene cluster in a multidrug-resistant strain of S. enterica serovar Albany isolated from food fish from Thailand and imported to France. In this strain, the streptomycin resistance aadA2 gene cassette in one of the SGI1 integrons was replaced by a dfrA1 gene cassette, conferring resistance to trimethoprim and an open reading frame of unknown function. Thus, this serovar Albany strain represents the fourth S. enterica serovar in which SGI1 has been identified and the first SGI1 example where gene cassette replacement took place in one of its integron structures. The antibiotic resistance gene cluster of serovar Albany strain 7205.00 constitutes a new SGI1 variant; we propose a name of SGI1-F.

Florfenicol resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Newport mediated by a plasmid related to R55 from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Florfenicol resistance has emerged over the past few years in multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium, Agona and Paratyphi B. The floR gene encoding florfenicol resistance is chromosomally located in these serovars within a genomic island of 43 kb called SGI1 (Salmonella genomic island 1). In the present study, we characterized florfenicol resistance in a strain of S. enterica serovar Newport isolated from a turkey in 1990 and that lacked SGI1. Florfenicol resistance was mediated by a conjugative plasmid related to R55 from Klebsiella pneumoniae, which was characterized initially in the 1970s and harbours a gene 95% identical to floR.

Characterization of variant Salmonella genomic island 1 multidrug resistance regions from serovars Typhimurium DT104 and Agona.

Strains of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 (DT104) and S. enterica serovar Agona (Agona) have been found to harbor Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1), a 43-kb genomic region that contains many of the drug resistance genes. Such strains are resistant to ampicillin (pse-1), chloramphenicol/florfenicol (floR), streptomycin/spectinomycin (aadA2), sulfonamides (sul1), and tetracycline [tet(G)] (commonly called the ACSSuT phenotype). All five resistance genes are found in a 13-kb multidrug resistance (MDR) region consisting of an unusual class I integron structure related to In4. We examined DT104 and Agona strains that exhibited other resistance phenotypes to determine if the resistance genes were associated with variant SGI1 MDR regions. All strains were found to harbor variant SGI1-like elements by using a combination of Southern hybridization, PCR mapping, and sequencing. Variant SGI1-like elements were found with MDR regions consisting of (i) an integron consisting of the SGI1 MDR region with the addition of a region containing a putative transposase gene (orf513) and dfrA10 located between duplicated qacEDelta1/sulI genes (SGI1-A; ACSSuTTm); (ii) an integron with either an aadA2 (SSu) or a pse-1 (ASu) cassette (SGI1-C and SGI1-B, respectively); (iii) an integron consisting of the SGI1-C MDR region plus an orf513/dfrA10 region as in SGI1-A (SGI1-D; ASSuTm; ampicillin resistance due to a TEM beta-lactamase); and (iv) an integron related to that in SGI1 but which contains a 10-kb inversion between two copies of IS6100, one which is inserted in floR (SGI1-E; ASSuT). We hypothesize that the MDR of SGI1 is subject to recombinational events that lead to the various resistance phenotypes in the Salmonella strains in which it is found.

Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium DT 104 antibiotic resistance genomic island I in serotype paratyphi B.

We have identified Salmonella genomic island I (SGI1) in an isolate of Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B. This antibiotic-resistance gene cluster, which confers multidrug resistance, has been previously identified in S. enterica serotype Typhimurium phage types DT 104 and DT 120 and in S. enterica serotype Agona.

The AcrB multidrug transporter plays a major role in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium phage type DT204.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium phage type DT204 strains isolated from cattle and animal feed in Belgium were characterized for high-level fluoroquinolone resistance mechanisms [MICs to enrofloxacin (Enr) and ciprofloxacin (Cip), 64 and 32 microg/ml, respectively]. These strains isolated during the periods 1991-1994, and in 2000 were clonally related as shown by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Selected strains studied carried several mutations in the quinolone target genes, i.e., a double mutation in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of gyrA leading to amino acid changes Ser83Ala and Asp87Asn, a single mutation in the QRDR of gyrB leading to amino acid change Ser464Phe, and a single mutation in the QRDR of parC leading to amino acid change Ser80Ile. Moreover, Western blot analysis showed overproduction of the AcrA periplasmic protein belonging to the AcrAB-ToIC efflux system. This suggested active efflux as additional resistance mechanism resulting in a multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) phenotype, which was measurable by an increased level of resistance to the structurally unrelated antibiotic florfenicol in the absence of the specific floR resistance gene. The importance of the AcrAB-TolC efflux system in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance was further confirmed by inactivating the acrB gene coding for the multidrug transporter. This resulted in a 32-fold reduction of resistance level to Enr (MIC = 2 microg/ml) and actually in a susceptible phenotype according to clinical breakpoints. Thus, AcrB plays a major role in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance, even when multiple target gene mutations are present. The same effect was obtained using the recently identified efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) Phe-Arg-naphthylamide also termed MC207,110. Among several fluoroquinolones tested in combination with EPI, the MIC of Enr was reduced most significantly. Thus, using EPI together with fluoroquinolones such as Enr may be promising in combination therapy against high-level fluoroquinolone-resistant S. enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Selection and characterization of fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants of Campylobacter jejuni using enrofloxacin.

Significant levels of fluoroquinolone resistance were obtained in Campylobacterjejuni isolates after an unique step of selection using enrofloxacin. An Asp90-to-Asn and a Thr86-to-Ile change in the gyrase subunit GyrA were found associated with a low (MIC < or = 8 /microg/ml) or a high (MIC > or = 16 microg/ml) level of resistance to ciprofloxacin, respectively. An association of both mutations conferred a higher level of resistance (MIC > or = 128 microg/ml). Further steps of selection increased the MICs of fluoroquinolones but did not result in a multiple antibiotic resistance phenotype. The Thr86-to-Ile change was found to confer different levels of resistance, pointing out other mechanisms of resistance. However, sequencing revealed no mutation in gyrB, and several attempts did not enable any amplification of the parC gene coding for topoisomerase IV, suggesting an absence of this secondary target in C. jejuni. In addition, no difference in the major outer membrane protein expression was found among the isolates. Furthermore, the use of the recently identified efflux pump inhibitor Phe-Arg-beta-naphthylamide did not result in a significant decrease of fluoroquinolone MICs or change in the frequency of isolation of enrofloxacin-resistant mutants, and thus appears ineffective against fluoroquinolone-resistant C. jejuni isolates. Results obtained during ciprofloxacin accumulation studies confirmed that efflux probably plays a minor role in fluoroquinolone resistance of C. jejuni.

Molecular analysis of chromosomally florfenicol-resistant Escherichia coli isolates from France and Germany.

The aim of this study was to analyse chromosomally florfenicol-resistant Escherichia coli isolates for their genetic relatedness, and also for the presence of the floR gene and its adjacent regions, in order to compare these regions with those associated with a floR gene located on a conjugative plasmid from E. coli. Twenty-two bovine E. coli from France and Germany were examined. Florfenicol resistance was determined by MIC determination. The presence of the floR gene was confirmed by hybridization and PCR analysis. The E. coli isolates were investigated by macrorestriction analysis. The 22 florfenicol-resistant E. coli (MICs 64->128 mg/L) differed in their BlnI macrorestriction patterns. Single or double copies of the floR gene were detected by hybridization on different-sized chromosomal EcoRI, BamHI and BglI fragments. The floR-flanking regions also proved to be variable as confirmed by hybridization experiments. The detection of chromosomal floR gene copies in unrelated E. coli isolates supplements the observations of floR genes on plasmids in E. coli and confirms their potential to integrate into the chromosome. The RFLPs of floR gene-carrying restriction fragments might suggest variable chromosomal integration sites.