R-factor
Encyclopedia : R : RF : RFA : R-factor
R-factor is an old name for a
plasmid that codes for
antibiotic resistance. Often, R-factors code for more than one antibiotic resistance factor: genes that encode resistance to unrelated
antibiotics may be carried on a single R-factor. Many R-factors can pass from one bacterium to another through
bacterial conjugation and are a common means by which antibiotic resistance spreads between bacterial species, genera and even families, for example RP1, a plasmid that encodes resistance to
ampicillin,
tetracycline and
kanamycin originated in a species of
Pseudomonas, from the Family
Pseudomonadaceae can also be maintained in bacteria belonging to the family
Enterobacteriaceae, such as
Escherichia coli.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.
