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. 1983 Jun;23(6):817–826. doi: 10.1128/aac.23.6.817

Analysis of plasmids in nosocomial strains of multiple-antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

B R Lyon, J W May, R A Skurray
PMCID: PMC184973  PMID: 6311086

Abstract

Nosocomial infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to methicillin and multiple antibiotics have reached epidemic proportions in Melbourne, Australia, over the past 5 years. Plasmid analysis of representative clinical isolates demonstrated the presence of three classes of plasmid DNA in most strains. Resistance to gentamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin was usually mediated by an 18-megadalton plasmid but could also be encoded by a related 22-megadalton plasmid. Two distinguishable plasmids of 3 megadaltons each endowed resistance to chloramphenicol, and the third class consisted of small plasmids, each approximately 1 megadalton in size, with no attributable function. An extensive array of resistance determinants, including some which have usually been associated with a plasmid locus, were found to exist on the chromosome. Evidence that resistance to gentamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin is chromosomally encoded in some clinical isolates suggests that this determinant may have undergone genetic translocation onto the staphylococcal chromosome.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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