Contribution of BlaA and BlaB beta-lactamases to antibiotic susceptibility of Yersinia enterocolitica biovar 1B.

Highly pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica biovar 1B produces two distinct beta-lactamases, BlaA and BlaB. Mutants of a representative biovar 1B isolate were constructed and evaluated to determine the extent of limitation of susceptibility to broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics by BlaA and BlaB. The results demonstrated that BlaA, a class A enzyme, plays a significant role in limiting susceptibility to penicillins and cephalosporins. The contribution of BlaB, a class C enzyme, was less profound and was limited primarily to cephalosporin susceptibility.