Tm. Suter et al., ISOLATION OF A GENE ENCODING A NOVEL SPECTINOMYCIN PHOSPHOTRANSFERASEFROM LEGIONELLA-PNEUMOPHILA, Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 41(6), 1997, pp. 1385-1388
A gene capable of conferring spectinomycin resistance was isolated fro
m Legionella pneumophila, the agent of Legionnaires' disease, The gene
(aph) encoded a 36-kDa protein which has similarity to aminoglycoside
phosphotransferases, Biochemical analysis confirmed that aph encodes
a phosphotransferase which modifies spectinomycin but not hygromycin,
kanamycin, or streptomycin. The strain that was the source of aph demo
nstrated resistance to spectinomycin, and Southern hybridizations dete
rmined that nph also exists in other legionellae.