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Journal of Bacteriology, September 1999, p. 5455-5460, Vol. 181, No. 17
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

ZmaR, a Novel and Widespread Antibiotic Resistance Determinant That Acetylates Zwittermicin A

Elizabeth A. Stohl,1,2,dagger Sean F. Brady,3 Jon Clardy,3 and Jo Handelsman1,2,*

Department of Plant Pathology1 and Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology,2 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Baker Labs, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-13013

Received 16 March 1999/Accepted 3 June 1999

ZmaR is a resistance determinant of unusual abundance in the environment and confers on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria resistance to zwittermicin A, a novel broad-spectrum antibiotic produced by species of Bacillus. The ZmaR protein has no sequence similarity to proteins of known function; thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine the function of ZmaR in vitro. Cell extracts of E. coli containing zmaR inactivated zwittermicin A by covalent modification. Chemical analysis of inactivated zwittermicin A by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and high- and low-resolution mass spectrometry demonstrated that the inactivated zwittermicin A was acetylated. Purified ZmaR protein inactivated zwittermicin A, and biochemical assays for acetyltransferase activity with [14C]acetyl coenzyme A demonstrated that ZmaR catalyzes the acetylation of zwittermicin A with acetyl coenzyme A as a donor group, suggesting that ZmaR may constitute a new class of acetyltransferases. Our results allow us to assign a biochemical function to a resistance protein that has no sequence similarity to proteins of known function, contributing fundamental knowledge to the fields of antibiotic resistance and protein function.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of Wisconsin, Department of Plant Pathology, 1630 Linden Dr., Madison, WI 53706. Phone: (608) 263-8783. Fax: (608) 262-8643. E-mail: joh{at}plantpath.wisc.edu.

dagger Present address: Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611.


Journal of Bacteriology, September 1999, p. 5455-5460, Vol. 181, No. 17
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.






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