Florfenicol resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Newport mediated by a plasmid related to R55 from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Florfenicol resistance has emerged over the past few years in multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium, Agona and Paratyphi B. The floR gene encoding florfenicol resistance is chromosomally located in these serovars within a genomic island of 43 kb called SGI1 (Salmonella genomic island 1). In the present study, we characterized florfenicol resistance in a strain of S. enterica serovar Newport isolated from a turkey in 1990 and that lacked SGI1. Florfenicol resistance was mediated by a conjugative plasmid related to R55 from Klebsiella pneumoniae, which was characterized initially in the 1970s and harbours a gene 95% identical to floR.