Rifampicin is an effective antibiotic against mycobacterial and other bacterial infections, but resistance readily emerges in laboratory and clinical settings. We screened Escherichia coli for rifampicin resistance and identified numerous mutations to the gene encoding the β-chain of RNA polymerase (rpoB), including an unusual 9-nucleotide deletion mutation. Structural modeling of the deletion mutant indicates locations of potential steric clashes with rifampicin. Sequence conservation in the region near the deletion mutation suggests a similar mutation may also confer resistance during the treatment of tuberculosis.

中文翻译：

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鉴定大肠杆菌中的利福平抗性突变，包括异常的缺失突变。

利福平是一种有效的抗分枝杆菌和其他细菌感染的抗生素，但在实验室和临床环境中很容易出现耐药性。我们针对大肠杆菌对利福平的耐药性进行了筛选，并发现了编码RNA聚合酶（rpoB）β链的基因的众多突变，包括一个不寻常的9个核苷酸缺失突变。缺失突变体的结构模型表明与利福平可能发生的空间冲突。缺失突变附近区域的序列保守性表明，在结核病治疗期间，相似的突变也可能赋予耐药性。