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. 1980 Jul;143(1):198–204. doi: 10.1128/jb.143.1.198-204.1980

Cytoplasmic membrane proteins of spectinomycin-susceptible and -resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

M A Miller, C S Schärli, J Mills
PMCID: PMC294210  PMID: 6447142

Abstract

Cytoplasmic membranes were isolated and examined from two spectinomycin-susceptible and three spectinomycin-resistant clinical strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. A laboratory-derived spectinomycin-resistant mutant, obtained by serial passage on gradually increasing concentrations of the antibiotic, and a susceptible revertant, spontaneously arising from one of the resistant clinical strains, were also studied. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis revealed that a major protein, comprising about 7% of total cytoplasmic membrane protein (molecular weight 24,000), was absent in the three clinically isolated spectinomycin-resistant strains. In a revertant, this protein reappeared. During treatment of one of the susceptible strains with spectinomycin, the protein disappeared. However, this correlation was not maintained in the laboratory-derived spectinomycin-resistant mutant. This mutant was of comparable resistant to the clinical isolates, but the 24,000-molecular-weight protein was present in normal quantities. In addition, spectinomycin resistant in clinical isolates was variable compared with stable resistance exhibited by the laboratory-derived mutant. These findings suggested that differences in laboratory-derived versus clinical spectinomycin resistance may be due to different types of resistance mutations.

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Selected References

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