Plasmid-specified sucrose fermentation in Salmonella arizonae

Thirty cultures of Salmonella arizonae 47:r:253 (Ar 23:24-25) were isolated over 7 months from the faeces of a captive reptile. All were unusual in their inability to produce a positive o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactosidase reaction, and in their ability to ferment sucrose. These S. arizonae carried a plasmid having a molecular mass of 72 megadaltons which specified tetracycline resistance and a plasmid of 5 megadaltons which coded for the ability to ferment sucrose. The small size of this sucrose plasmid clearly distinguishes it from others which have been reported.