Stability in Escherichia coli of an antibiotic resistance plasmid from Bacteroides fragilis

A. Rashtchian, S. J. Booth

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

A B. fragilis strain resistant to penicillin G, tetracycline, and clindamycin was screened for the presence of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Agarose gel electrophoresis of ethanol-precipitated DNA from cleared lysates of this strain revealed two plasmid DNA bands. The molecular weights of the plasmids were estimated by their relative mobility in agarose gel and compared with standard plasmids with known molecular weights. The molecular weights were 3.40 ± 0.20 x 106 and 1.95 ± 0.05 x 106 for plasmids pBY1 and pBY2, respectively. Plasmid DNA purified by cesium chloride-ethidium bromide gradient centrifugation was used to transform a restriction- and modification-negative strain of E. coli. Penicillin G- and tetracycline-resistant transformants were screened for the presence of plasmid DNA. A plasmid band corresponding to a molecular weight of 1.95 x 106 was present in all transformants tested. Curing experiments demonstrated that the plasmid, referred to as pBY22 when present in transformants, was responsible for penicillin G and tetracycline resistance. Plasmid pBY22 was mobilized and transferred to other E. coli strains by plasmid R1drd-19. Stability of pBY22 was examined in different E.coli strains and was shown to be stably maintained in both restriction-negative and restriction-positive strains. Unexpectedly, pBY2 and pBY22 were resistant to digestion by 12 different restriction endonucleases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)121-127
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of bacteriology
Volume146
Issue number1
StatePublished - 1981
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology

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