Nonenzymatic Chloramphenicol Resistance Mediated by IncC Plasmid R55 Is Encoded by a <i>floR</i> Gene Variant

Abstract

The IncC plasmid R55, initially described in the 1970s and isolated from Klebsiella pneumoniae, confers nonenzymatic chloramphenicol resistance. The gene coding for this resistance was cloned and sequenced and shows 95 to 97% nucleotide identity with the recently reported floR gene from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 and from Escherichia coli animal isolates, respectively, conferring cross-resistance to florfenicol.