A Corynebacterium glutamicum gene conferring multidrug resistance in the heterologous host Escherichia coli

Abstract

A chromosomal DNA fragment from the erythromycin-sensitive bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 was shown to mediate resistance against erythromycin, tetracycline, puromycin, and bleomycin in Escherichia coli. Multicopy cloning of the fragment did not cause a resistance phenotype in C. glutamicum. The corresponding gene encodes a hydrophobic protein with 12 potential transmembrane-spanning α-helical segments showing similarity to drug-H+ antiporters.