Growth suppression of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT104 by a non-DT104 strain in vitro

Growth suppression of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT104 by a non-DT104 strain was investigated in vitro. Chromosomal mutants of eight antibiotic-resistant DT104 strains were generated by sub-culturing on desoxycholate hydrogen sulfide lactose agar containing 25 µg/ml of nalidixic acid. Low counts of each of these mutants (designated as “minority cultures”) were inoculated into 24-h cultures of a non-DT104 S. typhimurium strain (designated as “majority culture”) to test the ability of the majority culture to suppress the multiplication of the minority culture. Multiplication of small numbers of the antibiotic-resistant DT104 strains was significantly (P < 0.05) prevented when the DT104s were added to 24-h brain heart infusion cultures of the non-DT104 strain. This observation has practical implications for the control of the menacing antibiotic-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT104.