Transduction Analysis of the Genetic Determinants for Chloramphenicol Resistance in Staphylococci

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Abstract
A genetic analysis of resistance to chloramphenicol (CM) in Staphylococcus aureus S1337 was carried out through transduction. About 3 to 18% of the transductants jointly acquired resistance to both tetracycline (TC) and CM, even when singly selected for either CM‐ or TC‐resistance. When singly selected for either TC‐ or streptomycin (SM)‐resistance, about 1 to 4% of the transductants jointly acquired resistance to both TC and SM. Joint transduction of both CM‐ and SM‐resistance was never observed, when singly selected for either TC‐ or CM‐resistance. These findings indicate that the genetic loci govering CM, TC and SM resistance in S1337 are closely linked, and appear to possess the following linkage order, ‐CM‐TC‐SM‐. The finding that penicillin (PC) resistance is not cotransducible with either CM‐, TC‐, or SM‐resistance, is also accordance with a previous result in MS27, indicating that PC‐resistance is governed by a genetic unit different from the one carrying resistance to TC, SM and CM in S1337.