Cloning and sequencing of a gene encoding carminomycin 4-O-methyltransferase from Streptomyces peucetius and its expression in Escherichia coli

Sequence analysis of a portion of the Streptomyces peucetius daunorubicin biosynthetic gene cluster revealed a complete open reading frame (dnrK) that showed DNA and protein sequence homology to several O-methyltransferases. Expression of dnrK in Streptomyces lividans and Escherichia coli was done to show that this gene codes for carminomycin 4-O-methyltransferase. The deduced carminomycin 4-O-methyltransferase protein shows a conserved nucleotide binding site for its S-adenosyl-L-methionine cofactor.