Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms Promote Horizontal Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract

ABSTRACTGrowth as a biofilm facilitates the emergence of antibiotic resistance by mutation inStaphylococcus aureus. Here we demonstrate that biofilm growth of this species also dramatically increases horizontal transfer of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance determinants by conjugation/mobilization and that standard laboratory practices to induce conjugation in staphylococci achieve optimal efficiency owing to the presence of a biofilm.