Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1985 Sep;49(3):751–755. doi: 10.1128/iai.49.3.751-755.1985

Plasmid-mediated susceptibility to intestinal microbial antagonisms in Escherichia coli.

A Andremont, G Gerbaud, C Tancrède, P Courvalin
PMCID: PMC261263  PMID: 3897062

Abstract

Self-transferable plasmid pIP1100 confers to Escherichia coli an unusually high level of resistance (1 to 2 mg/ml) to erythromycin by production of an erythromycin esterase. The effect of pIP1100 on the destiny of E. coli strains in the intestines of gnotobiotic mice was studied. In germfree mice, pIP1100 was efficiently transferred to a plasmid-free E. coli recipient. Intestinal counts of the donor, the recipient, and the transconjugants were greater than 8.5 log CFU/g of feces. When erythromycin was added to the diet of the mice, counts of the plasmid-bearing strains were only slightly lowered and partial inactivation of erythromycin was observed in the feces. Transfer of pIP1100 also occurred in human-flora-associated mice. In this model all the E. coli strains were subject to microbial antagonisms caused by the anaerobic components of the flora. However, strains harboring pIP1100 were strongly inhibited (less than 2.5 log CFU/g of feces), whereas their plasmid-free counterparts persisted at much higher population levels (greater than 5.2 log CFU/g of feces). The ecological disadvantage conferred by pIP1100 to E. coli when a complex human flora was concomitantly present in the intestine of the mice persisted during erythromycin administration. These results provide an explanation for the low incidence of isolation of highly erythromycin-resistant E. coli strains despite the extensive use of the antibiotic.

Full text

PDF
751

Images in this article

753Image
on p.753
753Image
on p.753

Selected References

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

  1. Andremont A., Raibaud P., Tancrède C. Effect of erythromycin on microbial antagonisms: a study in gnotobiotic mice associated with a human fecal flora. J Infect Dis. 1983 Sep;148(3):579–587. doi: 10.1093/infdis/148.3.579. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Andremont A., Tancrede C. Reduction of the aerobic Gram negative bacterial flora of the gastro-intestinal tract and prevention of traveller's diarrhea using oral erythromycin. Ann Microbiol (Paris) 1981 Nov-Dec;132 B(3):419–427. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bachmann B. J. Linkage map of Escherichia coli K-12, edition 7. Microbiol Rev. 1983 Jun;47(2):180–230. doi: 10.1128/mr.47.2.180-230.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Barthélémy P., Autissier D., Gerbaud G., Courvalin P. Enzymic hydrolysis of erythromycin by a strain of Escherichia coli. A new mechanism of resistance. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1984 Dec;37(12):1692–1696. doi: 10.7164/antibiotics.37.1692. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Best W. R. On the logarithmid transformation of intestinal bacterial counts. Am J Clin Nutr. 1970 Dec;23(12):1608–1609. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/23.12.1608. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. CHABBERT Y., BOULINGRE H. Modifications pratiques concernant le dosage des antibiotiques en clinique. Rev Fr Etud Clin Biol. 1957 Jun;2(6):636–640. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. CHABBERT Y. Une technique nouvelle d'étude de l'action bactéricide des associations d'antibiotiques: le transfert sur cellophane. Ann Inst Pasteur (Paris) 1957 Sep;93(3):289–299. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Devriese L. A., Dutta G. N. Effects of erythromycin-inactivating Lactobacillus crop flora on blood levels of erythromycin given orally to chicks. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 1984 Mar;7(1):49–53. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2885.1984.tb00878.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ducluzeau R., Ladire M., Callut C., Raibaud P., Abrams G. D. Antagonistic effect of extremely oxygen-sensitive clostridia from the microflora of conventional mice and of Escherichia coli against Shigella flexneri in the digestive tract of gnotobiotic mice. Infect Immun. 1977 Aug;17(2):415–424. doi: 10.1128/iai.17.2.415-424.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Duval-Iflah Y., Raibaud P., Rousseau M. Antagonisms among isogenic strains of Escherichia coli in the digestive tracts of gnotobiotic mice. Infect Immun. 1981 Dec;34(3):957–969. doi: 10.1128/iai.34.3.957-969.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Duval-Iflah Y., Raibaud P., Tancrede C., Rousseau M. R-plasmic transfer from Serratia liquefaciens to Escherichia coli in vitro and in vivo in the digestive tract of gnotobiotic mice associated with human fecal flora. Infect Immun. 1980 Jun;28(3):981–990. doi: 10.1128/iai.28.3.981-990.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Freter R., Freter R. R., Brickner H. Experimental and mathematical models of Escherichia coli plasmid transfer in vitro and in vivo. Infect Immun. 1983 Jan;39(1):60–84. doi: 10.1128/iai.39.1.60-84.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Grindley N. D., Grindley J. N., Anderson E. S. R factor compatibility groups. Mol Gen Genet. 1972;119(4):287–297. doi: 10.1007/BF00272087. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. LEDERBERG J., LEDERBERG E. M. Replica plating and indirect selection of bacterial mutants. J Bacteriol. 1952 Mar;63(3):399–406. doi: 10.1128/jb.63.3.399-406.1952. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Labigne-Roussel A., Witchitz J., Courvalin P. Modular evolution of disseminated Inc 7-M plasmids encoding gentamicin resistance. Plasmid. 1982 Nov;8(3):215–231. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(82)90060-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Maniatis T., Jeffrey A., Kleid D. G. Nucleotide sequence of the rightward operator of phage lambda. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Mar;72(3):1184–1188. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.3.1184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nichols R. L., Condon R. E., DiSanto A. R. Preoperative bowel preparation. Erythromycin base serum and fecal levels following oral administration. Arch Surg. 1977 Dec;112(12):1493–1496. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.1977.01370120083010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Novick R. P., Clowes R. C., Cohen S. N., Curtiss R., 3rd, Datta N., Falkow S. Uniform nomenclature for bacterial plasmids: a proposal. Bacteriol Rev. 1976 Mar;40(1):168–189. doi: 10.1128/br.40.1.168-189.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Portnoy D. A., Moseley S. L., Falkow S. Characterization of plasmids and plasmid-associated determinants of Yersinia enterocolitica pathogenesis. Infect Immun. 1981 Feb;31(2):775–782. doi: 10.1128/iai.31.2.775-782.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Rolfe R. D., Finegold S. M. Intestinal beta-lactamase activity in ampicillin-induced, Clostridium difficile-associated ileocecitis. J Infect Dis. 1983 Feb;147(2):227–235. doi: 10.1093/infdis/147.2.227. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Shinnick T. M., Lund E., Smithies O., Blattner F. R. Hybridization of labeled RNA to DNA in agarose gels. Nucleic Acids Res. 1975 Oct;2(10):1911–1929. doi: 10.1093/nar/2.10.1911. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. So M., Gill R., Falkow S. The generation of a ColE1-Apr cloning vehicle which allows detection of inserted DNA. Mol Gen Genet. 1975 Dec 30;142(3):239–249. doi: 10.1007/BF00425649. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wilson K. H., Silva J., Fekety F. R. Suppression of Clostridium difficile by normal hamster cecal flora and prevention of antibiotic-associated cecitis. Infect Immun. 1981 Nov;34(2):626–628. doi: 10.1128/iai.34.2.626-628.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wittmann H. G., Stöffler G., Apirion D., Rosen L., Tanaka K., Tamaki M., Takata R., Dekio S., Otaka E. Biochemical and genetic studies on two different types of erythromycin resistant mutants of Escherichia coli with altered ribosomal proteins. Mol Gen Genet. 1973 Dec 20;127(2):175–189. doi: 10.1007/BF00333665. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES