Related Experiment Videos
Identification of a Saccharopolyspora erythraea gene required for the final hydroxylation step in erythromycin
D Stassi1, S Donadio, M J Staver
1Corporate Molecular Biology, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois 60064.
Abstract:
In analyzing the region of the Saccharopolyspora erythraea chromosome responsible for the biosynthesis of the macrolide antibiotic erythromycin, we identified a gene, designated eryK, located about 50 kb downstream of the erythromycin resistance gene, ermE. eryK encodes a 44-kDa protein which, on the basis of comparative analysis, belongs to the P450 monooxygenase family. An S. erythraea strain disrupted in eryK no longer produced erythromycin A but accumulated the B and D forms of the antibiotic, indicating that eryK is responsible for the C-12 hydroxylation of the macrolactone ring, one of the last steps in erythromycin biosynthesis.