Elimination of resistance to antibiotics and metal ions of hospital strains of Staphylococcus aureus
Młynarczyk, A.; Młynarczyk, G.; Osowiecki, H.
Medycyna Doswiadczalna i Mikrobiologia 32(1): 1-8
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-8601 PMID: 7412441 Document Number: 155239
Various agents that eliminate plasmids were used to demonstrate nonstability of resistance to antibiotics and ions in multidrug-resistant strains of S. aureus. Resistance to penicillin (Ph), neomycin (Nm), kanamycin (Km), paromomycin (Pm), chloramphenicol (Cm), tetracycline (Tc), cloxacillin (Cx), and to Cd2+, Hg2+, Zn2+, Sb2+ and AsO43-, ions can be eliminated, suggesting plasmid localization of genes determining this resistance. Six groups of characters that could be co-eliminated completely were found in the strains tested: (Pc, Cd2+), (Pc, Cd2+, Zn2+), (Pc, Cd2+, Zn2+, Hg2+), (Pc, Cd2+, Zn2+, Hg2+, Sb2+, AsO43-), (Km, Nm, Pm), (Tc, Cx). No co-elimination was found of Cm resistance with other resistance characters. Genes determining the co-eliminating characters presumably occur in 1 plasmid. The elimination frequency ranged from 0.1-2.7%, depending on strain, agent applied and plasmid eliminated. A loss of 1 or some plasmids failed to modify phage patterns of the strains tested.