NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCES AND EXPRESSION OF GENES FROM STREPTOMYCES-PURPURASCENS THAT CAUSE THE PRODUCTION OF NEW ANTHRACYCLINES IN STREPTOMYCES-GALILAEUS

Six open reading frames, rdmA to rdmF, in a 6,077-bp segment of Strept omyces purpurascens DNA which caused the production of hybrid anthracy clines were identified. The minimal fragment that produced anthracycli nes modified at the 10th position contained rdmB to rdmD; rdmE is the gene for aklavinone-11-hydroxylase. RdmC is similar to a putative open reading frame in the daunorubicin biosynthetic cluster of Streptomyce s peucetius and is likely to participate in the removal of the side ch ain at the 10th position.