Transfer of plasmid-mediated ampicillin resistance from Haemophilus to Neisseria gonorrhoeae requires an intervening organism.

Haemophilus species have been implicated as the source of plasmid-mediated ampicillin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Previous attempts to transfer conjugally the resistance plasmids from Haemophilus species to N. gonorrhoeae have met with limited success. Using both biparental and triparental mating systems, it was found that transfer will occur if the commensal Neisseria species, Neisseria cinerea, is used as a transfer intermediate. This organism stably maintains resistance plasmids of Haemophilus and facilitates transfer of these plasmids to N. gonorrhoeae, in a triparental mating system, at a transfer frequency of 10(-8). Both Haemophilus ducreyi and N. gonorrhoeae carry mobilizing plasmids capable of mediating conjugal transfer of the same resistance plasmids. However, restriction endonuclease mapping and DNA hybridization studies indicate that the mobilizing plasmids are distinctly different molecules. Limited homology is present within the transfer region of these plasmids.