Use of ureidopenicillins for selection of plasmid vector transformants in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas putida.

Broad-host-range plasmids coding for beta-lactamase were successfully selected after transformation of Pseudomonas strains. Transformants of both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas putida containing plasmid pRO1614 were isolated in media containing low concentrations of piperacillin. These strains were also susceptible to other ureidopenicillins. Similar selections of transformants with carbenicillin, ampicillin, or ticarcillin required high concentrations of antibiotics and yielded backgrounds of spontaneous resistant mutants.