Resistance plasmids of Pasteurella multocida isolated from turkeys

From 1940 through 1978, fifty-eight strains of Pasteurella multocida (serotype 3) were isolated from turkeys throughout the United States and were examined for R-plasmids. Forty-one of the isolates contained plasmid DNA, of which 7 isolates were found to encode resistance to tetracycline, streptomycin, and sulfonamides, or to streptomycin and sulfonamides. The R-plasmids were 2 to 10 megadaltons, nonconjugal, and contained a moles percent guanine plus cytosine ratio in the range of 57 to 61. The R-plasmids did not belong to any of the 19 incompatibility groups evaluated, including Inc Q. Digestion with restriction endonuclease indicated that 2 of the plasmids from P multocida isolated in 1960 and 1962 were identical, whereas 4 of the 5 plasmids obtained from P multocida isolated after 1966 were identical, with the 5th plasmid closely related to the other 4. The results indicated that R-plasmids were not widely dispersed among P multocida (serotype 3) isolated from turkeys in the United States. The nontransmissible nature of these plasmids was probably the major reason for their lack of dissemination.