The Current Status of R Factors
Authors: DAVID H. SMITH
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1967)

Editorials1 December 1967The Current Status of R FactorsDAVID H. SMITH, M.D.DAVID H. SMITH, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-67-6-1337 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptResistance (R) factors were discovered in 1959 in Japan during studies on the problem of multiple drug-resistantShigellathat had developed in that country. Natural isolates ofShigellaresistant to sulfadiazine, streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol had become increasingly prevalent since their description in 1955, and many related epidemiological observations could not be explained by the classical theory—that is, spontaneous mutation and selection—of the origin of drug resistance in bacteria. Japanese scientists boldly proposed and demonstrated, therefore, that these drug resistances were mediated by an extrachromosomal genetic element or episome—the R factor—transferable between gram-negative bacteria by a mating process known as...References1. WATANABE T: Infective heredity of multiple drug resistance in bacteria. Bact. Rev. 27: 87, 1963. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. ROUNDNAKAYANAKAMURA RRA: Molecular nature of the drug-resistance factors of the Enterobacteriaceae. J. Molec. Biol. 17: 376, 1966. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. SMITH DH: The genetic comparison of R factors, in Proceedings of an International Symposium on Infectious Multiple Drug Resistance, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D. C., May 25, 1967, in press. Google Scholar4. OKAMOTOSUZUKI SY: Chloramphenicol, dihydrostreptomycin and kanamycin—inactivating enzymes from multiple drug-resistant E. coli carrying episome 'R.' Nature (London) 208: 1301, 1965. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. SHAW WV: The enzymatic acetylation of chloramphenicol by extracts of R factor-resistant Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 242: 687, 1967. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. DATTARICHMOND NMH: The purification and properties of a penicillinase whose synthesis is mediated by an R-factor in Escherichia coli. Biochem. J. 98: 204, 1966. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. LOZNER EC: Personal communication. Google Scholar8. NOVICK RP: Penicillinase plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus. Fed. Proc. 26: 29, 1967. MedlineGoogle Scholar9. SMITH DH: R-factor-mediated resistance to new aminoglycoside antibiotics. Lancet 1: 252, 1967. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. SMITH HW: The influence of antimicrobial drugs in feeds on the emergence of drug-resistant disease-producing bacteria in animals, in Proceedings of the Symposium on the Use of Drugs in Animal Feeds, Washington, D. C., June 5-7, 1967, National Academy of Science, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar11. ANDERSONLEWIS ESMJ: Drug resistance and its transfer in Salmonella typhimurium. Nature (London) 206: 579, 1965. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. WATANABEFUKASAWA TT: Episome-mediated transfer of drug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. II. Elimination of resistance factors with acridine dyes. J. Bact. 81: 679, 1961. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. SMITH DH: Unpublished observations. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: DAVID H. SMITH, M.D.Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics Children's Hospital Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Boston, Mass. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byMicrobial Development of Drug Resistance: Mechanisms and Clinical SignificanceAntimicrobial Drug Therapy in Pediatric PracticeAn R Factor Defects to Our SideMultiple Drug Resistance of Pathogens in Purulent Surgical InfectionsEffect of Antibiotic Therapy in Acute Salmonellosis on the Fecal Excretion of SalmonellaeChapter 9. Antibiotics and Related CompoundsPLATELET BEHAVIOUR IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSISFRECKLES, BIRTHMARKS, AND MOLESGASTROENTERITIS DUE TO ESCHERICHIA COLI 1 December 1967Volume 67, Issue 6Page: 1337-1341KeywordsBacteriaChloramphenicolDrugsGeneticsGram negative bacteriaScientistsShigellaStreptomycinTetracyclines ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 December 1967 PDF downloadLoading ...