Assay of aminoglycoside phosphotransferase in situ

A method for the evaluation of the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase activity in bacterial colonies directly is described. The method is based on the ability of the enzyme to modify the substrate immobilized on carboxymethylcellulose paper. The sensitivity and accuracy of the method were tested by comparing the results of the present assay to those obtained with conventional procedures. The method seems to be particularly useful for the detection within a bacterial population producing aminoglycoside phosphotransferase of those cells which do not make the enzyme and for rapid determination of the relative levels of enzyme produced by different clones.