Insights into the structure, function and evolution of the radical-SAM 23S rRNA methyltransferase Cfr that confers antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

ABSTRACT: The Cfr methyltransferase confers combined resistance to five classes of antibiotics that bind to the peptidyl tranferase center of bacterial ribosomes by catalyzing methylation of the C-8 position of 23S rRNA nucleotide A2503. The same nucleotide is targeted by the housekeeping methyltransferase RlmN that methylates the C-2 position. Database searches with the Cfr sequence have revealed a large group of closely related sequences from all domains of life that contain the conserved CX(3)CX(2)C motif characteristic of radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes. Phylogenetic analysis of the Cfr/RlmN family suggests that the RlmN subfamily is likely the ancestral form, whereas the Cfr subfamily arose via duplication and horizontal gene transfer. A structural model of Cfr has been calculated

SUBMITTER: Kaminska KH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2836569 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature