Kanamycin Monosulfate from Streptomyces kanamycetikus

Kanamycin sulfate is an antimicrobial agent effective against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and mycoplasma. It binds to the 70S ribosomal subunit, inhibits translocation, and elicits miscoding. Cross-resistance occurs between kanamycin and neomycin, framycetin, and paromomycin, and partial cross-resistance has been reported between kanamycin and streptomycin. Aminoglycosidemodifying enzymes (acetyltransferase, phosphotransferase, nucleotidyltransferase) alter the antibiotic, preventing its interaction with ribosomes.

Kanamycin sulfate is a broad spectrum aminoglycoside-antibiotic derived from Streptomyces kanamyceticus. It is used as an additive in culture media for the isolation of group D streptococci on Kanamycin Esculin Azide Agar and for selection of transformed plant cells containing the neomycin phosphotransferase on a kanamycin-medium. Kanamycin sulfate can also be used as a selection agent for cells transformed with kanamycin B resistance gene.

Kanamycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. Aminoglycosides work by binding to the bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit, causing misreading of t-RNA, leaving the bacterium unable to synthesize proteins vital to its growth. Specifically Kanamycin binds to four nucleotides of 16S rRNA and a single amino acid of protein S12. This interferes with decoding site in the vicinity of nucleotide 1400 in 16S rRNA of 30S subunit. This region interacts with the wobble base in the anticodon of tRNA. This leads to interference with the initiation complex, misreading of mRNA so incorrect amino acids are inserted into the polypeptide leading to nonfunctional or toxic peptides and the breakup of polysomes into nonfunctional monosomes.