Mixed cultures of Staphylococcus aureus: some observations concerning transfer of anitbiotic resistance

Genetic transfer of antibiotic resistance characteristics in Staphylococcus aureus mixed culture was studied. There is a possibility for genetic transfer of multiple characteristics, coded either by plasmids or by the main chromosome. Transfer is most frequently obtained between strains belonging to the same bacteriophage class, and the presence of a transducer phage is essential within the systems described. Strains of type 187 are capable of genetic exchange in the presence of serological group L phage. Transduction is apparently essential for this transfer, and this system is thus different from the conjugation-type mechanism described by other authors.