Replicon typing of 71 multiresistant Serratia marcescens strains.

Replicon typing is the identification of plasmids by hybridization with specific DNA probes which contain the genes involved in plasmid maintenance. This new method has been used to classify plasmids into replicon (rep) groups which can often be correlated with incompatibility (Inc) groups. We studied 71 multiresistant Serratia marcescens strains with 19 rep probes constructed from reference plasmid replicons belonging to known Inc groups.