| Abstract: | Naturally occurring strains of staphylococci which are resistant to chloramphenicol (CM) inactivate this antibiotic. One of the inactivation products of CM showed the chromatographic behavior of 3-acetoxychloramphenicol. Induction of resistance occurred after prior exposure to subinhibitory concentrations of the antibiotic. The resistance of induced populations, as well as CM-inactivation ability, was decreased when they were grown in CM-free medium. The CM-inactivation property was transduced together with CM resistance. Transductional analysis and CM-resistance elimination experiments indicated that CM resistance in naturally occurring strains of staphylococci is mainly accounted for by inactivation of the drug. |
