Transformation of Staphylococcus aureus by heterologous plasmids

Plasmids isolated from Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis were transformed into Staphylococcus aureus. Heterologous transformation was susceptible to restriction in S. aureus but could be performed in restriction-negative mutants or in heat-treated host bacteria. Three plasmids isolated from S. epidermidis were transformed into S. aureus with this technique and characterized. Two of them, pTE109 and pCE109, appear to be similar to two tet and cml plasmids previously isolated from S. aureus. The third, pPE109, carries penicillin and cadmium resistance and shows a restriction enzyme pattern which differs from known penicillinase plasmids in S. aureus.