Incidence of R Factors among Gram Negative Bacteria in Drug-free Human and Animal Communities (original) (raw)

Nature volume 220, pages 1046–1047 (1968)Cite this article

Abstract

TRANSFER of drug resistance among Enterobacteriaceae is mediated by cytoplasmic particles called R factors which seem to consist of a transfer factor (RTF) coupled to genes which determine the drug resisting capacity of the bacterial host2. Although the origin of the intact R factor is obscure3, there is some evidence4 that the transfer factors are widely distributed in the Enterobacteriaceae, and that they may on some occasions have picked up bacterial chromosome genes which determined drug resistance. Another possibility1 is that R factors arose in otherwise unrecognized plasmids during the course of mutations to a resistant form, but whatever mechanism is responsible, there is no doubt that R factors are selected and maintained by drugs in the environment4. The finding5 of transmissible drug resistance in a strain of Escherichia coli lyophilized in 1946 may indicate that R factors were already present in pre-antibiotic cultures. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the incidence of R factors in intestinal Gram-negative bacteria of wild animals and humans living in surroundings free of drugs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
    I. J. MARÉ

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  1. I. J. MARÉ
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MARÉ, I. Incidence of R Factors among Gram Negative Bacteria in Drug-free Human and Animal Communities.Nature 220, 1046–1047 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2201046b0

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