title: DNA in antibiotic preparations: absence of intact resistance genes.
abstract: Fragments of erm(E2), otrA, and aph(6) shorter than 400 bp and producer strain-specific rRNA genes were amplified from various antibiotics. The amount of genetic material and the sizes of amplicons recovered from murine feces after oral administration of a beta-lactamase-encoding plasmid indicated substantial DNA degradation in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. These observations imply that antibiotics are no major source for horizontal resistance gene transfer in clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Vienna and Birkmayer Laboratories, Department of Research and Development, Schwarzspanierstrasse 15, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. m.woegerbauer@birkmayer.com
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Woegerbauer
authors.forename: Heimo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lagler
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Graninger
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Burgmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D004340:Drug Contamination; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal