Abstract
A circular genetic map was constructed of Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius, the producer of the anti-cancer antibiotic adriamycin. For the mapping, auxotrophic mutations were used to block the synthesis of various amino acids, adenine and nicotinamide. These auxotrophic mutants were obtained by mutagenic treatment of sporulating derivatives of the original strain (IMRU 3920 hereby called H3502). Most of these derivatives utilized the purple (accumulating ε-rhodomycinone) and white mutants with a defective adriamycin biosynthetic pathway. The location of the markers on the genetic map was based on haploid recombinant selection following the experimental and analytical procedures developed with Streptomyces rimosus. Crosses were made resulting in the unambiguous placement of the markers phe-ser-met-ade-leu-phe in the anti-clockwise direction. This preliminary genetic map can be used for future mapping of the genes involved in adriamycin biosynthesis.
