rRNA (rrn) operon-engineered Bacillus subtilis as a feasible test organism for antibiotic discovery.

Bacillus subtilis contains 10 rRNA (rrn) operons. We found that rRNA operon-engineered B. subtilis strain RIK543, with only the rrnO operon, is specifically hypersensitive to RNA polymerase inhibitors such as rifamycin SV and rifampin (80-fold and 20-fold, respectively). In pilot screening experiments, we found actinomycete isolates successfully at an incidence of 1.9% (18/945) that produced antibacterials that were detectable only with RIK543 as the test organism. Strain RIK543 may be a feasible test organism for the discovery of novel RNA polymerase inhibitors.