Horizontal Transfer of Erythromycin Resistance from Clostridium difficile to Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens

Abstract

This study demonstrates for the first time the in vitro transfer of the erythromycin resistance gene erm(B) between two obligate anaerobes, the human spore-forming pathogen Clostridium difficile and the rumen commensal Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, suggesting that this event might occur also in the natural environment.