Occurrence and characterization of plasmids in field isolates of Bordetella bronchiseptica

Twenty-seven isolates of Bordetella bronchiseptica were examined for the presence of plasmid DNA. Eleven of the isolates contained plasmids. An attempt was made to correlate the presence of plasmids with resistance to a number of antibiotics or heavy metals or with production of bacteriocins. Eight of the isolates contained a plasmid of approximately 35 megadaltons molecular weight; these isolates were all resistant to 1 mM mercuric chloride. There were no other correlations between plasmid content and any of the phenotypes tested. The plasmids conferring resistance to mercuric chloride were transferred by conjugation to Escherichia coli K-12. The plasmid-bearing isolates were then compared with their isogenic plasmidless parent for resistance to a number of antibiotics. Isolates acquiring the plasmids demonstrated increased resistance to streptomycin and ampicillin, as well as to mercuric chloride. The 8 plasmids were also analyzed by restriction endonuclease digestion.