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. 1982 Oct;16(4):637–640. doi: 10.1128/jcm.16.4.637-640.1982

Survey of the extrachromosomal gene pool of Clostridium difficile.

L L Muldrow, E R Archibold, O L Nunez-Montiel, R J Sheehy
PMCID: PMC272436  PMID: 7153313

Abstract

Pseudomembranous colitis, a severe diarrheal disease, has been linked to the administration of antibiotics and to two toxins produced by Clostridium difficile. Eighty-two strains of C. difficile isolated from humans and hamsters were assayed for the presence of plasmid DNA. Agarose gel electrophoresis of Sarkosyl-lysed cells indicated that 18% of the strains contained from one to four plasmids. The plasmid DNA in these strains ranged in molecular weight from 2.7 X 10(6) to 60 X 10(6). Strains with and without plasmids were examined for the cytopathogenic effect of the toxins on MRC-5 cells. No correlation was observed between plasmid content and cytopathogenic effect. The results of in vitro antibiotic susceptibility testing with plasmid-containing strains revealed that 33% of the strains tested exhibited growth with four or more of the antimicrobial agents used.

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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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