Spectinomycin dihydrochloride pentahydrate

Chemical structure: aminoglycoside

Spectinomycin is an aminocyclitol antibiotic derived from Streptomyces spectabilis. It has been shown to have a wide variety of uses, including treating acute gonorrheal urethritis and cervictis, to mark cell layers to monitor cell fate during leaf development, as a selection marker in plant related transformation systems for plant cells containing the marker gene Spcr, to study respiratory tract infections of cattle caused by Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica, and to generate plants deficient for the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase on MS-agar media. Spectinomycin also has use in amplification of low copy number plasmid carrying replicons. It is recommended for use in cell culture applications at 7.5-20 mg/L.

Mode of Action: Spectinomycin acts by inhibiting protein synthesis and elongation by binding to the bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit and interfering with peptidyl tRNA translocation.

Mode of Resistance: A mutation in rpsE, the gene for ribosomal protein S5, prevents the binding of spectinomycin. Resistance is also conferred by the aminoglycoside-3′-adenyltransferase gene (aadA).

Antimicrobial spectrum: Spectinomycin acts against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.

Stock solutions should be prepared at 10 mg/mL in water and filter sterilized.

Keep container tightly closed in a dry and well-ventilated place.

Solutions can be stored at 2-8°C for several weeks or at -20°C for more extended periods.