Is ISABA-1 customized for Acinetobacter?

An insertion sequence (ISABA-1) was identified in Acinetobacter spp., but not in Enterobacteriacea and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Numerous copies of the IS were identified in Acinetobacter strains containing the element. In one of the Acinetobacter baumannii strains, ISABA-1 was identified adjacent to sulII and transcription of the resistance gene is presumed to be dependent on promoter sequences within the IS. Since the IS is adjacent to ampC and blaOXA in this A. baumannii strain, it may be that IS ABA-1 plays an important role in the expression of antibiotic resistance genes in this genus. © 2005 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.