Mini-review of the literature behind Elizabethkingia meningoseptica and the cloning and characterization of E. meningoseptica 1872 B-lactamase

Abstract

Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is an opportunistic pathogen that is classified as Gram negative, rod-shaped bacterium. Notably, E. meningoseptica is capable of causing life-threating infections in infants and immunocompromised individuals. This bacterium is resistant to most B-lactam antibiotics that physicians habitually use to treat Gram-negative bacterial infections. In this research project, our aim is to further understand and characterize the specific genes associated with antibiotic resistance in E. meningoseptica bacteria; specifically the genes that code for the B-lactamase enzymes capable of altering B-lactam antibiotics and thereby rendering them an ineffective treatment against such infections. In order to combat this multidrug-resistance to antibiotics seen in countless microorganisms such as E. meningoseptica, research is needed to understand the function of B-lactamase enzymes and how they contribute to this resistance. Therefore, the purpose of this research project is to investigate the predicted 1872 B-lactamase gene, bla1872, that could be associated with antibiotic resistance in E. meningoseptica, clone that gene into expression, and then characterize this gene in order to further understand its function and transcriptional level of regulation.