Naturally occurring drug resistance plasmids in hospital strains of Staphylococcus aureus

A genetic analysis of multiply inorganic salts and antibiotic--resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus was performed. Experiments designed to show reversion of organisms to antibiotic and inorganic salt susceptibility, as well as studies on the influence of ultraviolet irradiation of phage on the transduction frequencies of the resistance markers, indicated that determinants of chloramphenicol, tetracycline, aminoglycoside antibiotics, inorganic salts, and penicillin resistance in hospital strain are present on separate plasmids. Transduced by us plasmids pN742 and pN794 determined resistance to neomycin, kanamycin, paromomycin, lividomycin and streptomycin.