Six strains of P. aeruginosa, resistant to IMI, CTZ and/or AZA, or to two of these drugs even to all three antibiotics, have been analysed by transduction by standard transducing phages F116 and G101, propagated on these strains, as well by a wildtype phage isolated from one of P. aeruginosa strains resistant to CTZ and AZA. Analysis of occurrence of resistance determinants in individual sets of transductants allows us to conclude that all three antibiotic-resistance determinants are separable by transduction and, thus, the resistance to any of these three antibiotics is genetically governed by independent determinants. None strain, resistant to these antibiotics, could hydrolyse any of these drugs, with an exception of slow hydrolysis of IMI, observed also by other investigators [8]. In contrast, strains hydrolysed classical, first-generation cephalosporins as well as Cefoxitin, and transferability of these two determinants could be proved by transfers, to Enterobacteriaceae (P. aeruginosa are naturally resistant to these two antibiotics). Thus, resistance to IMI, CTZ and/or AZA, is not co-transferred, with determinants of resistance to more classical cephalosporins.

Research Institute of Preventive Medicine Bratislava Czechoslovakia