Isolation and partial characterization of four plasmids from antibiotic-resistant thermophilic bacilli.

Twenty-nine antibiotic-resistant isolates of thermophilic bacilli were examined for the presence of covalently closed circular duplex DNA molecules by agarose-gel electrophoresis and caesium chloride-ethidium bromide density gradient centrifugation. Five of the 29 strains tested contained covalently closed circular molecules. Two of the streptomycin-resistant strains contained the same two plasmids: pAB118A of molecular weight 4.9 X 10(6) (7.0 kilobases) and pAB118B of molecular weight 3.0 X 10(6) (4.3 kilobases). Two of the tetracycline-resistant strains each contained a plasmid (pAB124) of molecular weight 2.9 X 10(6) (4.14 kilobases), while a third harboured a small plasmid (pAB128) of molecular weight 2.5 X 10(6) (3.57 kilobases). These plasmids were digested with 19 different restriction endonucleases and the numbers of cleavage sites were determined. Transformation of Bacillus subtilis (168 (Trp-) with purified plasmid DNA indicated that pAB124 conferred tetracycline resistance on the host.     

Isolation of the replication region of an indigenous plasmid of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Abstract The isolation of the replication region of an indigenous plasmid of 42 kb of the phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides is described. This plasmid was digested with the Bgl II restriction enzyme, ligated to the 2.7 Bgl II fragment of transposon Tn 10 , which contains the tet genes conferring tetracycline resistance, and the mixture was transformed into the Escherichia coli MC1061 strain. One of several chimeric plasmids harboring the replication region of the 42-kb plasmid obtained by this process was named pUA33 and further characterized. Plasmid pUA33 is approx. 8.3 kb. A partial restriction map has been constructed. Plasmid pUA33 is stable in E. coli cells growing under non-selective conditions and is non-self-transmissible. All these data suggest that the pUA33 plasmid may be a very useful tool for gene cloning in R. spheroides .     

Shuttle plasmids for Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens.

Small plasmids which replicate in both Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens were made by recombining E. coli plasmid pBR322 with three different small (less than 4 kilobases) plasmids native to C. perfringens. Subsequently, two homologous, though distinct, tetracycline resistance determinants (tet) from other C. perfringens plasmids were cloned into them. Both tet systems made E. coli resistant to at least 5 micrograms of tetracycline per ml when resident on the shuttle plasmids. The shuttle vectors have been used to transform L-phase variants and autoplasts of C. perfringens. In the latter case, the intact transforming plasmid could be isolated from walled cells after cell wall regeneration. Reciprocal transformation experiments in which plasmid DNAs derived from E. coli or C. perfringens were used suggest that restriction barriers exist between these two organisms. The plasmids contain restriction enzyme recognition sites in locations which are useful for cloning experiments.     

Genetic, molecular, and functional analysis of Streptococcus faecalis R plasmid pJH1.

Streptococcus faecalis JH1 contains two conjugative plasmids, pJH1, an R plasmid that codes for resistance to kanamycin, streptomycin, erythromycin, and tetracycline, and pJH2, a hemolysin-bacteriocin plasmid. Strain JH1 was used as an antibiotic resistance donor in conjugation experiments with two plasmid-free S. faecalis recipient strains, JH2-2 and OG1-RF1. Plasmid pJH1 was purified from one transconjugant, DL77, and subjected to restriction endonuclease analyses. Five restriction enzymes, EcoRI, XbaI, BamHI, SalI, and XhoI, yielding 10, 9, 3, 2, and 2 fragments, respectively, were used to determine the size (80.7 kilobases) of pJH1 and to construct a restriction endonuclease map of the plasmid. Twenty-eight percent of the antibiotic-resistant transconjugants examined expressed only part of the resistance pattern (Kmr Smr Emr Tcr) associated with pJH1, that is, they were resistant to kanamycin, streptomycin, and erythromycin; to erythromycin and tetracycline; or to erythromycin or to tetracycline only. Most of these strains also produced hemolysin and bacteriocin, and several contained a hybrid plasmid consisting of pJH2 and specific segments of pJH1 DNA. Several of these hybrid plasmids, as well as a deletion derivative of pJH1 that coded for resistance to tetracycline but not to kanamycin, streptomycin, or erythromycin, were purified and used to confirm the arrangement of restriction endonuclease fragments on the pJH1 map and to locate the resistance determinants on this map.     

Molecular analyses of conjugative, gentamicin-resistance plasmids from staphylococcal clinical isolates

Gentamicin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains which were isolated from infants with staphylococcal bacteremia were analyzed for the presence of self-transmissible gentamicin-resistance (Gmr) plasmids. Conjugative GMr plasmids of approximately 43.8-63 kilobases (kb) were found in all S. aureus strains. Inter- and intra-species transfer of Gmr plasmids by conjugation was observed from S. aureus to S. aureus and to S. epidermidis recipient strains. However, neither inter- nor intra-species transfer of gentamicin resistance by conjugation was observed with nine out of nine S. epidermidis donor strains which were mated with either S. epidermidis or S. aureus recipient strains. These conjugative Gmr plasmids were unable to comobilize a smaller (15-kb) plasmid present in all but two S. aureus clinical isolates. Many of the conjugative Gmr plasmids also carried genetic determinants for kanamycin, tobramycin, neomycin, and ethidium bromide resistance, and for beta-lactamase synthesis. EcoRI restriction endonuclease digests of the S. aureus Gmr conjugative plasmids revealed three different digestion patterns. Four EcoRI restriction endonuclease digestion fragments of 15, 11.4, 6.3, and 4.6 kb in size were common to all plasmids. These plasmids and conjugative Gmr staphylococcal plasmids from other geographical regions shared restriction digestion fragments of similar molecular weights. DNA hybridization with biotinylated S. aureus plasmid pIZ7814 DNA revealed a high degree of homology among these plasmids. A 50.9-kb plasmid from one of the nonconjugative S. epidermidis clinical isolates showed homology with the probe DNA but lacked a portion of a 6.3-kb fragment which was present in all conjugative plasmids and believed to carry much genetic information for conjugation.     

Distribution and analysis of plasmids inStreptococcus thermophilus

Summary In a survey of 35 strains ofStreptococcus thermophilus, 13 strains were found to harbor plasmid DNA. Most of these strains contained plasmid species varying in size from 2.2 to 7.15 kilobases. Only three strains had more than one plasmid species. Each of the nine distinct types of plasmid DNAs identified had two or more unique recognition sites for restriction endonucleases. The characteristics of the indigenous cryptic plasmids ofS. thermophilus may allow their development as cloning vectors useful in the genetic engineering of this species and other streptococci that are important in food production     

Ecological and genetic analysis of copper and streptomycin resistance in Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae.

Strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae resistant to copper, streptomycin, or both compounds were recovered from symptomless and diseased tissue of four woody hosts in three nurseries in Oklahoma. In strains resistant to copper and streptomycin (Cur Smr), resistance to both compounds was cotransferred with a single plasmid which was either 68, 190, or 220 kilobase pairs (kb). All Cus Smr strains contained a 68-kb conjugative plasmid. Cur Sms strains contained one plasmid which varied in size from 60 to 73 kb. All conjugative plasmids which transferred streptomycin resistance contained sequences homologous to the strA and strB Smr genes from the broad-host-range plasmid RSF1010. The Smr determinant was subsequently cloned from a 68-kb Cur Smr plasmid designated pPSR1. A restriction map detailing the organization of the homologous Smr genes from pPSR1 and RSF1010 and cloned Smr genes from P. syringae pv. papulans and Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria revealed the conservation of all sites studied. The Cur genes cloned from P. syringae pv. tomato PT23 and X. campestris pv. vesicatoria XV10 did not hybridize to the Cur plasmids identified in the present study, indicating that copper resistance in these P. syringae pv. syringae strains may be conferred by a distinct genetic determinant.     

Complete nucleotide sequence and characterization of pUA140, a cryptic plasmid from Streptococcus mutans

Approximately 5% of strains of Streptococcus mutans contain plasmid DNA. Strain UA140 harbors a 5.6-kb cryptic plasmid, pUA140, with an overall G+C content of 32.7%. Five open reading frames (ORF), encoding peptides of larger than 100 amino acid residues, were initially designated as ORF1 to ORF5. These five ORFs were located on the same strand of pUA140. ORF1 (258 amino acids) resembled a replication protein, Rep. Upstream of the putative Rep gene, a double-stranded origin for plasmid replication that showed strong similarity to those of a number of plasmids in the pT181 family was identified. Further upstream was a region constituting the single-stranded origin of replication. A single-stranded DNA intermediate was detected during plasmid replication. Taken together, these results suggest that pUA140 replicated by the rolling circle replication mechanism but exhibited several characteristics that differ from those of other members of the pT181 plasmid family.     

Molecular cloning of copper resistance genes from Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato.

A cosmid library of copper-resistant (Cur) Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato PT23 plasmid DNA was constructed and mobilized into the copper-sensitive recipient P. syringae pv. syringae PS61. One resultant cosmid clone, pCOP1 (46 kilobases), conferred copper resistance. The PT23 Cur gene(s) was located on pCOP1 by subcloning PstI restriction endonuclease fragments of pCOP1 in the broad-host-range vector pRK404. A subclone containing a 4.4-kilobase PstI fragment conferred Cur on PS61. The Cur gene(s) was further located by insertional inactivation with Tn5. A subcloned fragment internal to the Cur determinant on pCOP2 was probed to plasmid and chromosomal DNA of four copper-resistant and three copper-sensitive strains of P. syringae pv. tomato. The probe hybridized to plasmids in resistant strains, but showed no detectable homology to copper-sensitive strains.     

Drug Resistance and Broad Geographical Distribution of Identical R Plasmids of Pasteurella piscicida Isolated from Cultured Yellowtail in Japan

An MIC test of 12 chemotherapeutic agents performed on 175 strains of Pasteurella piscicida collected from cultured yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) in different areas of Japan from 1989 to 1991 revealed 152 strains (87%) with resistance to combinations of ampicillin (AP), chloramphenicol (CP), kanamycin (KM), nalidixic acid (NA), sulfamonomethoxine (SA), tetracycline (TC), and/or trimethoprim (TMP). The remaining 23 strains were sensitive to all the drugs tested: AP, cefazolin, CP, florfenicol (FF), furazolidone, KM, NA, novobiocin, SA, streptomycin, TC, and TMP. FF showed the most effective antibacterial activity against P. piscicida with MICs ranging from 0.004 to 0.6 μg/ml. One hundred and forty-nine of the 152 resistant strains carried transferable R plasmids encoding one of the Cp Km Sa Tc, Km Sa Tc, Km Sa, and Sa resistance. The most common resistance marker of transferable R plasmids identified in P. piscicida was Km Sa Tc. R plasmids encoding three different resistant markers were very similar on the basis of their digestion patterns with restriction endonucleases. There was homology among the DNAs of nine transferable R plasmids selected. Our findings suggest that multiple drug resistant strains of P. piscicida carrying transferable R plasmids with the same DNA structure are common in yellowtail farms and that the R plasmid has been retained within the P. piscicida population without change in their DNA structure according to geography and year.     

Plasmids in methanotrophic bacteria: isolation,characterization and DNA hybridization analysis

Ten strains of obligate methanotrophs were screened for the presence of plasmid DNA using a variety of methods. Plasmids were detected in all strains except Methylococcus capsulatus Bath. No significant similarity between plasmids was observed with respect to size or restriction digest patterns except for three strains of Methylosinus trichosporium, which appeared to contain the same three plasmids. Nitrocellulose filter hybridization revealed that the plasmid DNA from the M. trichosporium strains shared a small region of homology with the plasmid DNA from Methylosinus sporium 5. All of the plasmids remain cryptic. As the first step in characterization, a restriction digest map of the 55 kb plasmid found in Methylomonas albus BG8 was constructed.Abbreviations kb kilobases Formerly Mary L. O'Connor     

Antibiotic resistance study of clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa]

The study of 40 clinical strains of Ps. aeruginosa isolated from the wound surfaces of the patients showed that all the isolates were resistant to one or several antibiotics. The number of the strains resistant to 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 drug was 5, 22.5, 25. 30 or 17.5 per cent respectively. Fifteen strains carried resistance plasmids capable of conjugative transfer. Eleven out of 21 plasmids controlled resistance to chloramphenicol, 7 plasmids controlled resistance to streptomycin and sulfanylamides, 1 plasmid controlled resistance to streptomycin and chloramphenicol. The presence of two types of the plasmids controlling resistance to chloramphenicol and streptomycin + sulfanylamides respectively was found. All the plasmids proved to be capable of conjugative transfer between the strains of Ps. aeruginosa ML (PAO). The frequency of the plasmid conjugative transfer in such crosses ranged from 10(-6) to 10(-3). Most of the plasmids belonged to the incompatibility groups P-2 and P-7. One plasmid belonged to the incompatibility group P-5. It should be noted that about a half of the plasmids (11 out of 21) belonged to the incompatibility group P-7 which up to the present time was conditional, since was represented by a single plasmid Rms 148.     

Conjugative plasmids in Bordetella avium.

Three of five antibiotic-resistant plasmids isolated from virulent strains of Bordetella avium were found to be conjugative. A physical and genetic map of one of these plasmids, the 51.5-kb plasmid p4093, revealed that the area of p4093 responsible for streptomycin and tetracycline resistance was located in a region consisting of a cluster of restriction enzyme recognition sites, whereas the remainder of p4093 contained relatively few restriction sites. Additionally, the genes involved in the conjugative ability of p4093 were clustered in at least two widely separated regions of the plasmid.     

Conjugal transferability of multiple resistance in Shigella strains

Shigella strains isolated in Japan between 1971 and 1979 were surveyed for drug resistance and distribution of R plasmids. Of 2,510 strains, 89.3% were resistant to either one or various combinations of four drugs, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, and sulfanilamide. About 66% of the Shigella isolates were quadruply resistant. The frequency of isolation of R plasmids from quadruply resistant Shigella strains was the highest when compared with other strains resistant to various combinations of the four drugs. The conjugal transferability of 204 quadruply resistant strains isolated between 1977 and 1979 was tested by various mixed-culture methods. Among the total strains examined, 70.6% carried transferable resistance when tested by the conventional broth culture method, 90.2% transferred their resistance when, in addition the replica-plating method was used and 97.5% could transfer their resistance when the membrane filter method was also used. Although the remaining five strains could not transfer their resistance by any of the mixed culture methods, the drug resistance of four of the five strains was mobilized by the concomitant presence of F-tet or T-kan plasmid. These results indicate that almost all of the quadruple resistance in Shigella isolates was mediated by plasmid.     

Plasmid profiles and genomic DNA restriction endonuclease patterns of 30 independent Staphylococcus lugdunensis strains

Extrachromosomal DNA analysis and restriction endonuclease analysis of whole cellular DNA were used to characterize 30 Staphylococcus lugdunensis strains isolated from 13 different hospitals from 1977 to 1988. All the strains were susceptible to most of the antibiotics tested, including penicillin G. A single 3.2 kilobase plasmid was detected in 13 strains and one or two plasmids, ranging from 2.3 to 6.6 kilobases, were found in 7 strains. EcoRI, PstI and PvuII restriction patterns of total cellular DNA were identical for 23 isolates, indicating strong conservation of endonuclease sites in this species. One or two additional DNA bands occurred in seven isolates. Molecular markers show rather little variations between different S. lugdunensis isolates suggesting that they are closely related.     

Indigenous plasmids in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato: conjugative transfer and role in copper resistance

Twenty strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato were examined for the presence of plasmid DNA. P. syringae pv. tomato plasmids were grouped into five size classes: class A ranged from 95 to 103 kilobases (kb); class B ranged from 71 to 83 kb; class C ranged from 59 to 67 kb; class D ranged from 37 to 39 kb; and class E was 29 kb. All strains contained at least two plasmids in classes A and B. The conjugative ability of P. syringae pv. tomato plasmids in three strains was demonstrated by mobilization of the nonconjugative plasmid RSF1010 into Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae recipients. Plasmids from the three conjugative strains were labeled with Tn5. Four conjugative plasmids were identified by their repeated transfer to P. syringae pv. syringae recipients. P. syringae pv. tomato strains varied in sensitivity to copper sulfate (CuSO4): MICs were 0.4 to 0.6 mM for sensitive strains, 1.2 mM for moderately resistant strains, and 1.6 to 2.0 mM for very resistant strains. One very resistant strain, PT23, functioned as a donor of copper resistance. Recipient P. syringae pv. syringae strains PS51 and PS61 were inhibited by 0.1 mM CuSO4, whereas the CuSO4 MICs for transconjugant strains PS51(pPT23A) and PS61(pPT23C) were 1.8 and 2.6 mM, respectively. P. syringae pv. tomato strains PT12.2 and PT17.2 were inhibited by 0.6 mM copper sulfate, but their copper sulfate MICs were 2.6 and 1.8 mM, respectively, when they acquired pPT23C. Therefore, copper resistance in PT23 was controlled by two conjugative plasmids, designated pPT23A (101 kb) and pPT23C (67 kb).     

Isolation and characterization of a new plasmid from a Flavobacterium sp. which carries the genes for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate.

A Flavobacterium sp. (strain 50001), capable of degrading 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D), 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetate, and 2-chlorobenzoate and imparting resistance to mercury, harbored a degradative plasmid, pRC10. Cured strains of the Flavobacterium sp. lost the plasmid as well as the ability to degrade these chlorinated compounds. Comparison of this plasmid with the well-characterized 2,4-D-degradative plasmid pJP4 from Alcaligenes eutrophus showed regions of homology between the two plasmids. Restriction fragments of plasmid pRC10 which shared homology with the regions conferring 2,4-D-degradative genes (tfd) of plasmid pJP4 were cloned into a broad-host-range plasmid and studied in Pseudomonas putida. From the results obtained, the cloned DNA fragment expressed the genes for 2,4-D monooxygenase (tfdA) and 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase (tfdB). In spite of the similarity in function, the size (45 kilobases) and restriction pattern of plasmid pRC10 were considerably different from those of pJP4 (80 kilobases). This may be due to the difference in the microbial background during evolution of the two plasmids.     

Plasmid distribution and analyses in Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides

Ten strains of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis for plasmid DNA content and, by filter-hybridizations, for their molecular relationships. All strains examined contained at least one plasmid. Several strains carried as many as six different plasmid species with sizes ranging from 42 to 140 kilobases (kb). Those larger than 89 kb showed extensive homology with each other; the 42-kb plasmid of R. sphaeroides strain 2.4.1 was homologous to the smaller plasmid DNA of three other strains. A partial map of the 42-kb plasmid derived from R. sphaeroides 2.4.1 was prepared by analysis of restriction endonuclease digests. Cross-hybridization among the large plasmids indicated that those present in any one strain of R. sphaeroides showed homology to one or more of the large plasmids detected in strains L and 2.4.1.     

Construction of an Escherichia coli-Rhodococcus shuttle vector and plasmid transformation in Rhodococcus spp.

A plasmid transformation system for Rhodococcus sp. strain H13-A was developed by using an Escherichia coli-Rhodococcus shuttle plasmid constructed in this study. Rhodococcus sp. strain H13-A contains three cryptic indigenous plasmids, designated pMVS100, pMVS200, and pMVS300, of 75, 19.5, and 13.4 kilobases (kb), respectively. A 3.8-kb restriction fragment of pMVS300 was cloned into pIJ30, a 6.3-kb pBR322 derivative, containing the E. coli origin of replication (ori) and ampicillin resistance determinant (bla), as well as a Streptomyces gene for thiostrepton resistance, tsr. The resulting 10.1-kb recombinant plasmid, designated pMVS301, was isolated from E. coli DH1(pMVS301) and transformed into Rhodococcus sp. strain AS-50, a derivative of strain H13-A, by polyethylene glycol-assisted transformation of Rhodococcus protoplasts and selection for thiostrepton-resistant transformants. Thiostrepton-resistant transformants were also ampicillin resistant and were shown to contain pMVS301, which was subsequently isolated and transformed back into E. coli. The cloned 3.8-kb fragment of Rhodococcus DNA in pMVS301 contains a Rhodococcus origin of replication, since the hybrid plasmid was capable of replication in both genera. The plasmid was identical in E. coli and Rhodococcus transformants as determined by restriction analysis and was maintained as a stable, independent replicon in both organisms. Optimization of the transformation procedure resulted in transformation frequencies in the range of 10(5) transformants per micrograms of pMVS301 DNA in Rhodococcus sp. strain H13-A and derivative strains. The plasmid host range extends to strains of Rhodococcus erythropolis, R. globulerus, and R. equi, whereas stable transformants were not obtained with R. rhodochrous or with several coryneform bacteria tested as recipients. A restriction map demonstrated 14 unique restriction sites in pMVS301, some of which are potentially useful for molecular cloning in Rhodococcus spp. and other actinomycetes. This is the first report of plasmid transformation and of heterologous gene expression in a Rhodococcus sp.     

Plasmid-Determined Copper Resistance in Pseudomonas syringae from Impatiens

A strain of Pseudomonas syringae was recently identified as the cause of a new foliar blight of impatiens. The bacterium was resistant to copper compounds, which are used on a variety of crops for bacterial and fungal disease control. The bacterium contained a single 47-kilobase plasmid (pPSI1) that showed homology to a copper resistance operon previously cloned and characterized from P. syringae pv. tomato plasmid pPT23D (D. Cooksey, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 53:454-456, 1987). pPSI1 was transformed by electroporation into a copper-sensitive P. syringae strain, and the resulting transformants were copper resistant. A physical map of pPSI1 was constructed, and the extent of homology to pPT23D outside the copper resistance operon was determined in Southern hybridizations. The two plasmids shared approximately 20 kilobases of homologous DNA, with the remainder of each plasmid showing no detectable homology. The homologous regions hybridized strongly, but there was little or no conservation of restriction enzyme recognition sites.