Transposable plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid sequence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa which mediates resistance to gentamicin and four other antimicrobial agents.

A 9.1 x 10(6)-dalton transposable deoxyribonucleic acid sequence resides within Pseudomonas aeruginosa plasmid R1033 and mediates resistance to gentamicin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, and mercuric chloride. Transposability was demonstrated in Escherichia coli when this sequence, designated Tn1696, excised from R1033 and integrated into plasmid pMB8. Excision and insertion of Tn1696 occurred independently of the host Rec phenotype and may involve the 140-base pair, inverted deoxyribonucleic acid repeated region that flanks this sequence. Occurrence of a multiresistance transposon on a transferrable plasmid that has a broad host range may have serious epidemiological and therapeutic consequences.