Degradation of macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin antibiotics by Lactobacillus strains from animals.

Ability to degrade macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin antibiotics was noted in Lactobacillus strains isolated from the caeca of pigs, cattle and poultry. Some of the strains degraded all the three classes of antibiotics while some degraded either macrolides and lincosamides or macrolidese and streptogramins. There were also strains which degraded only macrolide or streptogramin type A antibiotics. Strains with any of these degradation abilities were always resistant to the antibiotics concerned, but strains with resistance to these antibiotics were often, but not always able to degrade them.