Plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance in Aeromonas salmonicida isolated from Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Scotland

Abstract. Forty oxytetracycline-resistant isolates of Aeromonas salmonicida obtained from outbreaks of furunculosis in Atlantic salmon in Scotland were tested for their susceptibility to 12 antibacterial agents. There were 10 resistance patterns with multiple resistance to two to six antibacterial agents. Transferable R-plasmids encoding oxytetracycline resistance were demonstrated in 11 out of the 40 isolates. The resistance transferred was multiple; to oxytetracycline, streptomycin, sulphamethoxine and trimethoprim, or to oxytetracycline and one or two of these in combination. Oxytetracycline resistance was transferred in a single, large step, >250-fold increase, and the MICs for individual transconjugants from mating populations were the same.