Identification of the novel lincosamide resistance gene lnu(E) truncated by ISEnfa5-cfr-ISEnfa5 insertion in Streptococcus suis: de novo synthesis and confirmation of functional activity in Staphylococcus aureus.

The novel lincosamide resistance gene lnu(E), truncated by insertion of an ISEnfa5-cfr-ISEnfa5 segment, was identified in Streptococcus suis. The gene lnu(E) encodes a 173-amino-acid protein with ≤69.4% identity to other lincosamide nucleotidyltransferases. The lnu(E) gene and its promoter region were de novo synthesized, and Staphylococcus aureus RN4220 carrying a shuttle vector with the cloned lnu(E) gene showed a 16-fold increase in the lincomycin MIC. Mass spectrometry experiments demonstrated that Lnu(E) catalyzed the nucleotidylation of lincomycin.