Abstract: JIANG Fa-xing*, SU Xiao-hong, QI Mu-ge, DAI Xiu-qin, SUN Hou-hua, ZHU Lun, ZHENG Bo, WANG Qian-qiu, LE Wen-jing, ZHU Wen. *Department of Dermatology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230001, China Corresponding author: SU Xiao-hong, Email: suxhong@yahoo.com 【Abstract】 Objective To detect mutations of 16S rRNA gene in Neisseria gonorrhoeae resistant to spectinomycin. Methods Twenty-six N. gonorrhoeae strains, including 6 spectinomycin-resistant （minimal inhibitory concentration （MIC） ≥ 128 mg/L） and 20 spectinomycin-sensitive （MIC = 32 or 16 mg/L） strains, were investigated in this study. DNA was extracted from these N. gonorrhoeae strains, and subjected to PCR for the amplification of 16S rRNA gene followed by sequencing. Results Mutations were found in the 16S rRNA gene of all the six spectinomycin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strains, among which, two with MIC values of > 256 mg/L carried C1192T mutation, and one with a MIC value of 128 mg/L carried T991C mutation. Double mutations were found in two strains with MIC values of 256 mg/L, with C1344T and T1345A in one strain as well as T990G and T991C in the other. Triple mutations, including T990G, G1343C and C1344T, were detected in one strain with a MIC value of 128 mg/L. No mutation was detected in the 16S rRNA gene of the 20 susceptible strains. Conclusions Transversions at various sites in the 16S rRNA gene may contribute to different levels of spectinomycin resistance in N. gonorrhoeae. Among these mutations, C1192T mutation may lead to high-level resistance, and other single-site or multisite mutations to varying degrees of resistance, to spectinomycin in N. gonorrhoeae. 【Key words】 Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Spectinomycin; Point mutation; RNA, ribosomal, 16S; Drug resistance, bacterial