J Med Microbiol NEW Faster Access
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Marsh, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Keevil, C. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Marsh, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Keevil, C. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Marsh, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Keevil, C. W.

The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 24, Issue 3 259-262, Copyright © 1987 by Society for General Microbiology

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Characterisation of and polysaccharide production by amoxycillin-resistant streptococci

P. D. Marsh, A. A. West and C. W. Keevil
Bacterial Metabolism Research Laboratory, PHLS Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Small numbers of bacteria capable of growing on agar supplemented with amoxycillin 40 mg/L were isolated from the saliva of 9 out of 20 adult volunteers in a previous study. All the bacteria were identified as Streptococcus sanguis although no strains produced dextran in conventional tests. However, using a specific assay, all the antibiotic-resistant strains were found to secrete glucosyltransferases (GTF), the enzymes that synthesise these extracellular polysaccharides; the production of GTF-S, the enzyme that synthesizes dextran, was 22-43% less than that of an antibiotic-sensitive control strain. Enzyme production by both antibiotic-resistant and sensitive bacteria was markedly inhibited by dextran primer. The amoxycillin-resistant bacteria were resistant to other penicillins; their resistance to erythromycin was variable but they were uniformly sensitive to cephalothin and clindamycin. As dextran production has been proposed as a key factor in the colonisation of damaged heart valves by bacteria such as S. sanguis, these highly resistant bacteria may not pose a threat to the susceptible individual.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL J MED MICROBIOL MICROBIOLOGY J GEN VIROL ALL SGM JOURNALS
Copyright © 1987 Society for General Microbiology.