A plasmid involved in chloramphenicol production in Streptomyces venezuelae: evidence from genetic mapping.

To test the hypothesis that chloramphenicol production in Streptomyces venezuelae depends on the presence of a plasmid, mapping analysis was carried out by using eight markers in addition to chloramphenicol production and melanoid pigment formation. The sequence of the eight markers was determined on a circular linkage map as follows: -his-ade-str-leu-lys-met-ilv-pro-(his-). This sequence resulted in the frequency of quadruple crossover (q.c.o.) recombinants having the lowest value, 3-2 to 4-9%. However, the character of chloramphenicol non-production, which was obtained by incubating mycelia with acriflavin, was not required to explain the results. From these results and other tests, it is concluded that chloramphenicol production is controlled by a plasmid. This plasmid appeared to be non-transferable in conjugation.