Evolution of the clusters of genes for β-lactam antibiotics: a model for evolutive combinatorial assembly of new β-lactams Authors Paloma Liras Area of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Leon, Spain Antonio Rodríguez-García Area of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Leon, Spain Juan F. Martín Area of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Leon, Spain Keywords: β-lactam antibiotics, microbial evolution, gene clusters, Streptomyces, Penicillium Abstract β-Lactam antibiotics are produced by prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. The genes for β-lactam biosynthesis are organized in clusters but the location of the different genes is not identical. Biosynthesis genes are clustered with genes for resistance (bla, pbp) and for the efflux of the antibiotic (cmcT) in prokaryotes. Comparison of proteins reveals much larger differences for primary metabolism enzymes than for β-lactam biosynthesis enzymes in producing organisms. This suggests a horizontal transfer of the β-lactam antibiotic biosynthesis genes. Downloads PDF Published 2010-03-17 Issue Vol. 1 No. 4 (1998) Section Review Articles License Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.
