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Science 19 March 1943:
Vol. 97. no. 2516, pp. 265 - 267
DOI: 10.1126/science.97.2516.265
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Articles

INCREASED SYNTHESIS OF p-AMINOBENZOIC ACID ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SULFONAMIDE RESISTANCE IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

MAURICE LANDY 1, NEWTON W. LARKUM 1, ELIZABETH J. OSWALD 1, and FRANK STREIGHTOFF 1

1 DIVISION OF BACTERIOLOGY, ARMY MEDICAL SCHOOL, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Sulfonamide-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus produce greater amounts of p-aminobenzoic acid than do their parent strains. This synthesis occurs both in the absence and in the presence of sulfonamides. The quantity of p-aminobenzoic acid synthesized by resistant strains appears sufficient to account for their resistance to sulfonamide drugs.

On the basis of this evidence, it is suggested that the development of ability to synthesize p-aminobenzoic acid in excess of the normal metabolic requirements, as a result of continued exposure to sulfonamides, explains the phenomenon of sulfonamide fastness in Staphylococcus aureus.


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STAPHYLOCOCCAL INFECTIONS AND THE PROBLEM OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCI.
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Arch Intern Med 94, 167-196
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES: NINTH ANNUAL REVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS.
H. A. REIMANN (1943)
Arch Intern Med 72, 388-426
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PIGMENT PRODUCTION BY SULFONAMIDERESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCI IN THE PRESENCE OF SULFONAMIDES.
W. W. SPINK and J. J. VIVINO (1943)
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)