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Expression of a transposable antibiotic resistance element in Saccharomyces

Nature volume 287, pages 869–871 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

Some eukaryotic genes can be expressed in bacteria but there are few examples of the expression of prokaryotic genes in eukaryotes1. Antibiotic G418 is a 2-deoxystreptamine antibiotic that is structurally related to gentamicin2 but has inhibitory activity against a much wider variety of pro- and eukaryotic organisms. In bacteria, resistance to G418 can be determined by several plasmid-encoded modifying enzymes3 and, in view of the broad spectrum of activity of G418, we considered that this antibiotic might be useful as a selective agent for the introduction of these antibiotic resistance genes into a eukaryotic organism such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Additional impetus for these experiments came from the knowledge that certain of the G418-resistance determinants in bacteria are carried on transposable elements4; a study of the properties of these elements in eukaryotes would be intriguing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706

    Antonio Jimenez & Julian Davies

  2. Institute de Bioquimica de Macromoleculas, Madrid, Spain

    Antonio Jimenez

Authors
  1. Antonio Jimenez
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  2. Julian Davies
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Jimenez, A., Davies, J. Expression of a transposable antibiotic resistance element in Saccharomyces. Nature 287, 869–871 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/287869a0

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