The antimicrobial activity of five compounds extracted from marine algae was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella choleraesuis, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Candida albicans , and Escherichia coli . Three of the compounds, cycloeudesmol, laurinterol, and debromolaurinterol, exhibited activity at concentrations approaching that of streptomycin. None of the compounds inhibited all of the organisms tested. There appeared to be selectivity for gram-positive microbes.

The wide host-range antibiotic resistance plasmid RPI was transferred from Pseudomonas aeruginosa via Escherichia coli into Pseudomonas glycinea. The plasmid was then acquired by Pseudomonas phaseolicola both in vitro and in planta in Phaseolus limensis leaves and pods. This was the first step in the design of a model system to determine the possible epidemiological significance of antibiotic resistance plasmids in the control of plant disease.

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