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Role of 16S rRNA Helix 44 in Ribosomal Resistance to Hygromycin B
P Pfister1, M Risch, D E Brodersen
1Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Universität Zürich, CH-8028 Zürich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Hygromycin B is an aminoglycoside antibiotic active against prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes. Ribosomal alterations in bacteria conferring resistance to hygromycin B have not been described, prompting us to use a single rRNA allelic derivative of the gram-positive bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis for investigation of the molecular mechanisms involved in ribosomal resistance to hygromycin B in eubacteria. Resistance mutations were found to localize exclusively in 16S rRNA. The mutations observed, i.e., 16S rRNA U1406C, C1496U, and U1498C (E. coli numbering), are in close proximity to the hygromycin B binding site located in conserved helix 44 of 16S rRNA. The 16S rRNA positions involved in hygromycin B resistance are highly conserved in all three domains of life, explaining the lack of specificity and general toxicity of hygromycin B.
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