Interrelationship between Drug Resistance and Bacteriocinogeny of Clostridium perfringens

Abstract

One hundred and eight strains of Clostridium perfringens were collected from polluted waters and tested for their drug resistance and bacteriocinogeny. Thirty of the strains were tetracycline resistant and 36 were bacteriocinogenic. Only one strain possessed both tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogen. Transfer experiments on tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogeny were carried out with several selected strains among these isolates. Both tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogeny were shown to be transferable by conjugation‐like procedures. Transfer experiments on these two properties revealed that there were two types of recipient strains among the isolates in regard to the acceptance of tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogeny. In one type of the recipient strain, these two properties seemed to be incompatible although in the other, both tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogeny were transferred by two‐step mating. Transcipients of this two‐step mating retransferred their tetracycline resistance but not bacteriocinogeny to another recipient strain. The existence of an incompatibility‐like relationship between tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogeny in one recipient strain, and the inability of these two properties to be co‐transferred from the two‐step transcipients, suggest a certain interrelationship between the factors responsible for tetracycline resistance and bacteriocinogeny.

Molecular genetics and pathogenesis of Clostridium perfringens.

“…In other studies, conjugative tetracycline-resistant strains of C. perfringens have been isolated from diverse sources, including human and animal feces and the environment (18,70,131,132,163,167). Molecular analysis has shown that the conjugative plasmids harbored by all of these strains carry the Tet P resistance determinant.…”

“…The majority of tetracycline-resistant strains do not have the ability to transfer their resistance. However, conjugative tetracycline resistance plasmids can be readily detected (18,131,132,163,165,168). Tetracycline resistance in nonconjugative isolates is generally constitutively expressed, whereas it is inducible in conjugative strains (163).…”

Characterization of Two Bacteriocins Produced by Clostridium perfringens

“…Media used for detection and Table 1. Bacterial strains used quantitative estimation of activity of bacteriocin are described previously (22). Plate cultures were incubated at 37 C in an Anaerobic Gas Pack (BBL, Becton Dickinson & Co., U.S.A.).…”