PROBABLE ABSENCE OF DIRECT INDUCTION OF BACTERIAL RESISTANCE TO STREPTOMYCIN

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Abstract
The effects of streptomycin on the development of streptomycin resistance of washed and starved cells were investigated with Escherichia coli, strain K-12. Only when resistant mutants were among the original resting cells did "conversion" of sensitive to resistant cells take place. In reconstruction experiments using a large number of resistant cells and relatively small number of sensitive cells distinguishable with auxotroph and phage-resistance markers, sensitive cells are killed even in phosphate buffer by streptomycin and resistant cells multiply, possibly utilizing the nutrients released from streptomycin killed sensitive cells. This mechanism of mutation and selection was confirmed in kinetic analysis of "resting cells". No significant difference was found between the mutation rates of Salmonella enteritidis strain 11 to streptomycin indifference (high one-step resistance) in the presence or absence of streptomycin, thus no mutagenic effects of streptomycin were observed on this organism.

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