Molecular analysis of the dmpM gene encoding an O-demethyl puromycin O-methyltransferase from Streptomyces alboniger

The nucleotide (nt) sequence of a 1332-bp fragment of Streptomyces alboniger DNA containing the gene (dmpM), which encodes an O-demethyl puromycin O-methyltransferase (DMPM), has been determined. The dmpM gene contains a 1131-nt open reading frame which encodes a polypeptide of Mr 40,303; this is consistent with the 44 +/- 2.5- and 160-kDa sizes of the DMPM monomer and its native form, respectively. The ATG start codon of dmpM is 50 bp downstream from the coding sequence of the gene (pac), which determines a puromycin N-acetyltransferase. S1 mapping experiments indicate that pac and dmpM are transcribed on a single transcript, which ends at least 500 nt downstream from the dmpM stop codon. The deduced amino acid sequence of DMPM shows significant similarities to those of a hydroxyindole O-methyltransferase, which is involved in the biosynthesis of melatonin by bovine pineal glands [Ishida et al., J. Biol. Chem. 262 (1987) 2895-2899], a hydroxyneurosporene methyltransferase, which is involved in carotenoid biosynthesis in the purple nonsulfur bacterium, Rhodobacter capsulatus [Armstrong et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 216 (1989) 254-268] and two O-methyltransferases of the tetracenomycin biosynthesis pathway from Streptomyces glaucescens.