Journal of General Plant Pathology (2002) 68, 212-219

Kenji Watanabe and Mamoru Sato (2002)
A novel conjugative plasmid conferring multiple-antibiotic resistance detected in epiphytic strains of Enterobacter cloacae
Journal of General Plant Pathology 68 (3), 212-219
Abstract: Several epiphytic strains of Enterobacter cloacae isolated from mulberry leaves were resistant to antibiotics such as streptomycin, kanamycin, ampicillin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol, and harbored a 100-kb plasmid designated pMUL1. Plasmid profile analysis of spontaneous mutants derived from Ent. cloacae MUL1 and MUL1 (RSF1010) suggested that pMUL1 confers resistance to multiple antibiotics. Southern blot analysis using probes of five antibiotic-resistance genes against EcoRI-digested DNA from pMUL1 and defective pMUL1s (mutants) revealed that all these genes were located within a 24-kb region of pMUL1 and that some genes were assigned to the defective plasmids. A similar antibiotic-resistance plasmid was detected in several orchid-pathogenic strains of Ent. cloacae, but not in the type-culture strain (JCM 1232) or strains of Ent. cloacae of insect-origin. Strains MUL1 and MUL1 (RSF1010) were then mated with epiphytic Erwinia spp. and Pseudomonas spp. on filters, respectively. Several recipient strains of epiphytic Er. herbicola simultaneously acquired plasmid pMUL1 and the phenotype of multiple-antibiotic resistance. Thus, pMUL1 was verified to be conjugative and to encode genes for multiple-antibiotic resistance, including genes homologous to the strA-strB of the nonconjugative IncQ plasmid RSF1010. These findings suggest that epiphytic Ent. cloacae may play a role in the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes among epiphytic bacteria and plant pathogenic bacteria.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pseudomonas (genus)
	Erwinia (genus)
	Enterobacter cloacae