Molecular analysis of tlrB, an antibiotic-resistance gene from tylosin-producing Streptomyces fradiae, and discovery of a novel resistance mechanism.

The tlrB gene, which confers inducible resistance to a range of macrolide antibiotics including biosynthetic precursors of tylosin, was isolated and sequenced. In the genome of Streptomyces fradiae, it lies between pbp, which encodes a putative penicillin-binding protein, and tylN, encoding a glycosyltransferase involved in tylosin biosynthesis. The TlrB protein was produced in E. coli as a fusion to MalE. The fusion protein, but not MalE alone, inactivates macrolides in the presence of S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) but the modified product(s) has not been characterised.