Eighty-three per cent of 200 different freshly isolated cultures of Staphylococcus epidermidis produced beta lactamase. Growth in the presence of acridine orange or ethidium bromide or growth at 44 C resulted in a high frequency of loss of the beta lactamase genes in some strains of S. epidermidis. The relationship between betalactamase production and resistance to mercuric, cadmium and arsenate ions differed from that observed in Staphylococcus aureus. It is postulated that the genes for beta lactamase in certain strains of S. epidermidis are on a plasmid.
The fate and impact of elemental mercury in closed bacterial cultures were examined. The quantity of elemental mercury oxidized by bacteria ranged from small amounts for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. fluorescens, Escherichia coli, and Citrobacter to essentially all of the added elemental mercury for Bacillus subtilis and B. megaterium. The percentage of the total mercury in the system associated with bacterial cells ranged from 18.6 to 43.2%. Growth of the two Pseudomonas species was inhibited by elemental mercury, whereas growth of the other cultures was not distinguishable from that in mercury-free controls. No methylmercury was formed by the six cultures within 48 h.
Eighty-three per cent of 200 different freshly isolated cultures of
Staphylococcus epidermidis
produced beta lactamase. Growth in the presence of acridine orange or ethidium bromide or growth at 44 C resulted in a high frequency of loss of the beta lactamase genes in some strains of
S. epidermidis
. The relationship between beta-lactamase production and resistance to mercuric, cadmium and arsenate ions differed from that observed in
Staphylococcus aureus
. It is postulated that the genes for beta lactamase in certain strains of
S. epidermidis
are on a plasmid.
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