Open AccessPlasmid‐encoded mercury resistance in a Pseudomonas stutzeri strain that degrades o ‐xylene
Author(s) -
Barbieri Paola,
Galassi Gianluca,
Galli Enrica
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1989.tb03393.x
Subject(s) - pseudomonas stutzeri , plasmid , mercury (programming language) , chemistry , xylene , strain (injury) , pseudomonas , chloride , microbiology and biotechnology , carbenicillin , bacteria , biochemistry , biology , organic chemistry , genetics , antibiotics , gene , gentamicin , anatomy , computer science , programming language , benzene
A Pseudomonas stutzeri strain, previously isolated for its ability to utilize o ‐xylene, bears a plasmid, pPB, of about 80 kbp. pPB was found to encode resistance to mercuric chloride and organomercury compounds. Loss of the plasmid resulted in a simultaneous loss of the metal resistance, but not of the ability to degrade o ‐xylene. Transfer of the Hg r phenotype to an Hg s strain was achieved by mobilizing pPB with RP4. Mercury reductase activity was induced by mercuric chloride and by phenylmercuric acetate and Thimerosal. pPB may be considered a broad spectrum resistance plasmid.