Chloramphenicol resistance of three different flavobacteria

The chloramphenicol resistance of some flavobacteria was investigated comparatively. This resistance can be explained either by acetylation of chloramphenicol to O-acetylchloramphenicol via constitutively formed acetyltransferases, followed by cometabolic degradation (strain CB 60), or by limited uptake and total degradation (strain CB 6) by inducible enzymes or by other mechanisms (F. devorans). The mechanisms of resistance, CM-acetylation, CM-degradation and limited uptake are discussed.