Abstract
THE appearance of penicillin-resistant, β-lactamase-producing strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been the cause of considerable concern1. We have recently shown that β-lactamase production by these gonococci is plasmid mediated2. Two distinct R plasmids have been characterised; one, with mass 4.4 × 106 was common in gonococci isolated from military personnel in the Far East and their sexual contacts. The other plasmid with mass 3.2 × 106 was found in a strain isolated from a woman in London3 and we have also found this plasmid species in clinical isolates from Liverpool4. DNA–DNA duplex studies have revealed that both gonococcal R plasmids posses a significant portion (about 40 %) of the transposable sequence, TnA, which includes the β-lactamase gene commonly found on R plasmids of the Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Haemophilus influenzae2.
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ROBERTS, M., FALKOW, S. Conjugal transfer of R plasmids in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Nature 266, 630–631 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/266630a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/266630a0
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