Lilly Research Laboratories, 307 E. McCarty Street, Indianapolis, IN 46285, U.S.A. Tel. (317)261-4620
Abstract:
Novel bacterial resistance genes were cloned and expressed as dominant selection markers in mammalian cells. Escherichia coli genes coding for resistance to the aminocyclitol antibiotics hygromycin B (Hm) and G418 were cloned into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pSV5GPT [Mulligan and Berg, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78 (1981) 2072–2076]. Mouse cells normally sensitive to 100 μg/ml Hm were transformed with these plasmids and selected in 200 μg/ml Hm. Transformants resistant to as much as l mg/ml Hm and 500 μg/ml G418 were isolated. Cell extracts contained an acetyltransferase activity capable of acetylating G418 and an Hm amino-cyclitol phosphotransferase activity. Plasmid DNA sequences were identified by Southern blot analysis of high Mr DNA isolated from transformed cells.