Cloning and Sequence Analysis of the Aminoglycoside Resistance Gene from a Nebramycin Complex Producer, Streptoalloteichus hindustanus

The aminoglycoside multiple-resistance determinant from Streptoalloteichus hindustanus was cloned into Streptomyces lividans and named nbrB. The 1.2-kb ApaI- BclI fragment encompassing nbrB was located within a 2.6-kb ApaI fragment by successive subcloning experiments. The complete DNA nucleotide sequence of 1.2-kb containing nbrB was determined. The sequence contains an open reading frame that putatively encodes a polypeptide of 281 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 30,992. The deduced amino acid sequence of nbrB shows identities of 85.1% to kgmB of S. tenebrarius, 59.6% to sgm of Micromonospora zionensis, and 57.7% to grm of M. rosea. The similarity of nbrB to kgmB suggests that nbrB encodes a 16S rRNA methylase similar to that encoded by kgmB and that both genes might be derived from a common ancestral gene.