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Journal of Bacteriology, October 1999, p. 6142-6151, Vol. 181, No. 19
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

A Streptomyces coelicolor Antibiotic Regulatory Gene, absB, Encodes an RNase III Homolog

Brenda Price, Trifon Adamidis, Renqui Kong, and Wendy Champness^*

Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1101

Received 19 April 1999/Accepted 19 July 1999

Streptomyces coelicolor produces four genetically and structurally distinct antibiotics in a growth-phase-dependent manner. S. coelicolor mutants globally deficient in antibiotic production (Abs phenotype) have previously been isolated, and some of these were found to define the absB locus. In this study, we isolated absB-complementing DNA and show that it encodes the S. coelicolor homolog of RNase III (rnc). Several lines of evidence indicate that the absB mutant global defect in antibiotic synthesis is due to a deficiency in RNase III. In marker exchange experiments, the S. coelicolor rnc gene rescued absB mutants, restoring antibiotic production. Sequencing the DNA of absB mutants confirmed that the absB mutations lay in the rnc open reading frame. Constructed disruptions of rnc in both S. coelicolor 1501 and Streptomyces lividans 1326 caused an Abs phenotype. An absB mutation caused accumulation of 30S rRNA precursors, as had previously been reported for E. coli rnc mutants. The absB gene is widely conserved in streptomycetes. We speculate on why an RNase III deficiency could globally affect the synthesis of antibiotics.

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^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Giltner Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101. Phone: (571) 353-9770. Fax: (571) 353-8957. E-mail: champnes{at}pilot.msu.edu.

Present address: Abbott Laboratories, Abott Park, Ill.

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Journal of Bacteriology, October 1999, p. 6142-6151, Vol. 181, No. 19
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

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