Abstract
A tetracycline- and chloramphenicol-resistant strain of Clostridium perfringens, CW92, was shown to carry two plasmids, pCW2 and pCW3. Twenty-four independently derived tetracycline-sensitive mutants were isolated using a variety of curing agents. All were missing pCW3 but still carried pCW2. Tetracycline resistance could be transferred to a sensitive recipient strain by what appears to be a conjugation-like process. The efficiency of transfer was 2.8 × 10-5 transcipients per viable donor cell after a 20-h mating. The transcipients transferred tetracycline resistance at a similar frequency. Ten independently derived tetracycline-resistant transcipients all carried pCW3 as shown by agarose gel electrophoresis. The identity of this plasmid in one of these strains was confirmed by electron microscopy and restriction endonuclease analysis. Therefore, pCW3 (30.6 megadaltons) is a transferable tetracycline-resistance plasmid. No chloramphenicol-sensitive mutants or chloramphenicol-resistant transcipients were isolated. Therefore, pCW2 (36.4 megadaltons) remains cryptic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 563-570 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Plasmid |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1978 |
| Externally published | Yes |