DNA sequence and regulation of ermD, a macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance element from Bacillus licheniformis.

The DNA sequence of ermD , a macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLS) resistance determinant cloned from the chromosome of Bacillus licheniformis, has been determined. ermD encodes an erythromycin inducible protein of molecular weight 32,796. S1 nuclease mapping of the ermD promoter has revealed the presence of an approximately 354 base leader sequence on the ermD transcript. This leader contains a short open reading frame sufficient to encode a 14 amino acid peptide, which is preceded by a potential ribosomal binding site. The leader sequence has the potential to fold into several base paired structures, in some of which the ribosomal binding site for the ermD product would be sequestered. Deletion analysis demonstrated that the leader contains regulatory sequences. Removal of the ermD promoter and fusion to an upstream promoter did not interfere with induction, strongly suggestion that ermD regulation is posttranscriptional. Based on these features it appears likely that ermD is regulated by a translational attenuation mechanism, analogous to that suggested for ermC , a resistance element from Staphylococcus aureus ( Gryczan et al. 1980; Horinouchi and Weisblum 1980). Comparison of the ermD sequence and that of its product to two other sequenced MLS determinants reveals substantial phylogenetic relatedness, although the three genes are not homologous by the criterion of Southern blot hybridization.