R plasmids with thermosensitive transferability in Salmonella strains isolated from humans

Temperature dependence of transfer was examined with ten R plasmids originating from clinical isolates of Salmonella. Six of the plasmids were thermosensitive upon transfer, five of which were originally harbored in S. typhimurium and the remaining one in S. derby. One of these plasmids, pNR502, which conferred resistance to kanamycin, streptomycin (Sm) and tetracycline (Tc) on its host was stably maintained both in Salmonella and Escherichia coli at either 30, 37, or 43 C. Another plasmid, pNR516, which was resistant to chloramphenicol, sulfathiazole, Sm and Tc, was slightly unstable only at 43 C. The remaining four plasmids, pNR503, pNR510, pNR512 and pNR514, conferred resistance to Sm and Tc. Of these plasmids, the former two were stably maintained at both 30 and 37 C, but were unstable at 43 C. The latter two were slightly unstable at the lower temperatures and considerably unstable at 43 C. Kinetics of the transfer of the plasmid pNR503 revealed that the efficiency of transfer of the plasmid between E. coli strains was affected not only by the temperature of the conjugation but also by the preincubation temperature of the donor culture before the conjugation.