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Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI112289

In vitro studies of plasmid-mediated penicillinase from Streptococcus faecalis suggest a staphylococcal origin.

B E Murray, B Mederski-Samoraj, S K Foster, J L Brunton, and P Harford

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Published January 1, 1986 - More info

Published in Volume 77, Issue 1 on January 1, 1986
J Clin Invest. 1986;77(1):289–293. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI112289.
© 1986 The American Society for Clinical Investigation
Published January 1, 1986 - Version history
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Abstract

A strain of Streptococcus faecalis with plasmid-mediated penicillinase production was studied further. Partially purified penicillinase from the S. faecalis strain hydrolyzed penicillin, ampicillin, and ureido-penicillins but not penicillinase-resistant semisynthetic penicillins, cephalosporins, or imipenem; hydrolysis was inhibited by clavulanic acid. Hydrolysis of a given antibiotic correlated with a marked increase in the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of that drug when a high inoculum was used. As with most enterococci, the MICs of cephalosporins and penicillinase-resistant semisynthetic penicillins were too high for clinical usefulness, although these agents did not show an inoculum effect. Based upon hybridization under stringent conditions of plasmid DNA from the S. faecalis strain to cloned penicillinase genes from Staphylococcus aureus, it appears that these resistance determinants are highly homologous and suggests that this enzyme was introduced into streptococci from staphylococci.

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