1887

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Volume 20, Issue 2

Transferable Resistance and Aminoglycoside-Modifying Enzymes in Enterococci Free

Abstract

Summary

Ten isolates of and two isolates of were studied together with an NCTC strain of each species. Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed different patterns of high-level resistance to aminoglycosides. Three strains were highly resistant to gentamicin and other aminoglycosides. By means of a filter membrane technique, transfer of high-level resistance to aminoglycosides was demonstrated from to , from to and from to , the last of which has not previously been described.

Aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes were assayed with radio-labelled cofactors. High-level resistance to gentamicin and other aminoglycosides could be attributed to the production of 3„-O-phosphotransferases, 3‚-O-phosphotransferases, 6‚-O-adenylyltransferases and 6‚-N-acetyltransferases. Other resistance mechanisms accounted for resistance in two strains of and one strain of that were highly resistant only to streptomycin and one strain that was moderately resistant to all aminoglycosides. A low level of 6'-N-acetyltransferases was detected in the three strains of but this did not confer high-level resistance to aminoglycosides and this trait could not be transferred.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
© Society for General Microbiology, 1985
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1985-10-01
2024-12-07
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Transferable Resistance and Aminoglycoside-Modifying Enzymes in Enterococci
J. Med. Microbiol. 20, 187 (1985); https://doi.org/10.1099/00222615-20-2-187
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-20-2-187
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-20-2-187
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