In vitro development of chlorhexidine resistance in Streptococcus sanguis and its transmissibility by genetic transformation.

Three chlorhexidine-sensitive strains of Streptococcus sanguis developed resistance to chlorhexidine when grown as continuous cultures in a fermenter containing medium with increasing concentrations of the drug. The MIC of the test strains increased by between two and three dilution steps and these high values were maintained after daily transfer in drug-free medium for at least 15 d. In addition, the resistance of one of the strains persisted for more than 1 month of continuous growth in drug-competent sensitive S. sanguis to increased chlorhexidine resistance, thus proving that resistance to this drug is an inheritable trait. Immunoelectrophoretic experiments showed that certain changes in the antigenic pattern of the Chxr variants had occurred as compared with their sensitive wild-type strains. Antigenic extracts of the Chxr variants and all Chxr recombinants tested contained consistently less protein than those of the sensitive wild-types.