Studies on Development of Resistant Strains to Antibiotics and Antituberculosis Agents(II) -Isolation of Rifampicin Resistant Mutants from Clostridium butyricum-

The preparation of Clostridium butyricum is used as a normalizing agent for human intestinal flora. When the microbe is simultaneously used with rifampicin, it is inactivated by the antibiotic. To develop rifampicin-resistant mutants, rifampicin-sensitive strain Miyairi II 588 of C. butyricum was treated with nitrosoguanidine (NTG). To ensure stable resistance to rifampicin, we examined whether the resistance was plasmid-mediated or chromosome-mediated. It was found that the resistance of four mutant strains was not mediated by its inherent plasmid, but by the chromosomal mutation. These strains were examined for the susceptibility and resistance to other antituberculosis agents and antibiotics. The results showed that these mutants were resistant to the high concentration of the antituberculosis agents.