title: [Isolation and characterization of a beta-lactamase-specifying plasmid in a strain of "neisseria gonorrhoeae" (author's transl)].
abstract: GCL3, a beta-lactamase-producing, penicillin resistant strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in Toulouse (France), and GCL51, a penicillin susceptible strain, were examined for their plasmid content. Agarose-gel electrophoresis following or not ultracentrifugation in a cesium chloride-ethidium bromide gradients, revealed, for both strains a 3.9-kilobase (kb) (2.6 megadaltons) cryptic plasmid. Penicillin resistant strain GCL3 also contained a 37 kb (24.5 megadaltons) and a 7.3 kb (4.8 megadaltons) plasmid. Transformation studies showed that the gene responsible for beta-lactamase production was carried by the 7.3-kb plasmid. E. coli cells transformed for ampicillin resistance by plasmid DNA from GCL3, contained a single 7.3 kb-plasmid. The restriction endonuclease cleavage map obtained for this plasmid indicated that it is closely related to a penicillin R plasmid previously described in a strain isolated in the USA. The first isolation in the Midi-Pyrenees area of a beta-lactamase-producing strain proved the necessity of a rigorous surveillance of N. gonorrhoeae strains isolated in the world.
mesh_terms: D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D005602:France; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D010957:Plasmids; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D001618:beta-Lactamases
vernacular_title: Isolement et caractérisation d'un plasmide de résistance à la pénicilline, dans une souche de Neisseria gonorrhoeae.