Difference between revisions of "Part:BBa K1927002"

Revision as of 08:08, 14 October 2016

β � lactamase AmpR

This gene conveys resistance to a common antibiotic called Ampicillin. In research it is often used as a selection marker

Usage and Biology

During the last decade antibiotic resistance has grown not only in incidents but also in awareness among the public. Rapid detection of these incidents is essential in the battle against sophisticated bacteria. Beta lactamases are enzymes that provides one of the many mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. Its for this reason regulary used among researchers as a selection marker. Bacteria that has been subjected to a procedure where foreign DNA is introduced, an antibiotic resistance gene is often use to check if colonies succsesfully has taken up the DNA and expressed it.

An example of this is ampicillin which is a highly used selection marker. The need for a selection marker in genetical engineering has been shown extremly usefull. By transforming a bacteria with a particular gene plus an antibiotic resistance gene it allows the researcher to know exactly which colonies that has taken up the DNA. By plating them out on agar plates with a given antibiotic, only the bacteria with the resistance gene can grow. Cells that did not manage to take up the DNA will die.

The mechanism of beta lactamases are oriented to the bacterial cell wall. This cell wall is unique to bacteria and consist of several components. Gram Positive and gram negative bacteria will have a different cell wall composition. In general, Gram-positive bacteria have a thicker layer of cell wall as well as a layer of cytoplasmic membrane. These layers consist of several conserved compounds such as monomeric disaccharide tetrapeptide, which are usually also those that will trigger an immunological defence respons of the host. Gram-negative bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli) typically contain an outer membrane, an intervening periplasmic space where a thin layer of cell wall resides, and a layer of cytoplasmic membrane. Beta lactamases are usually produced both by gram negative and positive bacteria, either from plasmid or chromosomally. Beta lactamases are able to resist several types of antibiotics. These antibiotics all have in common a 4 - atom ring called beta lactam ring which the enzyme are able to hydrolyze and break open and the molecule looses its antibacterial function.

Penicillin, a regulary used antibiotic have such a beta lactam ring. This drug was the first antibiotic to be discovered and is still widely used today. This ring will bind to an enzyme (DD –transpeptidase) that is in charge of renewing the bacterial cell wall. Without this enzyme there will be no new formations of peptidoglycans for the cell wall and the integrity of the bacterial cell wall will be lost, it will eventually rupture and the bacteria will die. By hydrolyzing the ring, it will make the molecule unable to bind to the cell wall producing enzyme, thus the Penicillin have lost its destructive activity. !-- Add more about the biology of this part here

Sequence and Features