Method of isolating antibiotic biosynthetic genes.

摘要

@ The present invention is a method for isolating antibiotic biosynthetic genes. To practice the method, an antibiotic resistance-conferring DNA segment is labelled and used as a probe to find, via DNA hybridization, homologous DNA in a genetic library which comprises chromosomal and plasmid DNA of an antibiotic-producing organism. Individual vectors of the genetic library which hybridize to the antibiotic resistance-converring gene, and which comprise -1 - 45kb of contiguous DNA from the antibiotic-producing organism, will also comprise an antibiotic biosynthetic gene. The present method is exemplified by using the erythromycin resistance-conferring gene of Streptomyces erythreus to clone the erythromycin biosynthetic pathway from the same organism. The erythromycin biosynthetic pathway isolated with the present method synthesizes erythromycin when introduced into S. lividans TK23.