PHAGE-F-116 TRANSDUCTION OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANCE FROM A CLINICAL ISOLATE OF PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA

The lysate of phage F-116, propagated in a multiple drug resistant cli nical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa No. 131 was used to transduce determinants of antibiotic resistance to susceptible auxotrophic labor atory strains of the same species. The phage preparation, designated F -116/131 was found to transduce four determinants of resistance, i.e. to imipenem, cefotaxime, kanamycin and carbenicillin, but not to strep tomycin, gentamicin, ceftazidime nor ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin. No conju gal transfer of any resistance determinants could be demonstrated in m ating experiments using strain No. 131 and two rifampicin-resistant st rains of P. aeruginosa which were highly susceptible to all antibiotic s studied. These results might suggest that transduction could be an a dditional way to conjugational transfer of antibiotic resistance among P. aeruginosa.