Spectinomycin
From OpenWetWare
Contents |
Mode of Action
Spectinomycin is a bacteriostatic agent that inhibits translocation of the peptidyl tRNA from the A site to the P site.
Working Concentrations and Stock Solutions
Up to 100mg/mL stock concentration. 100ug/mL final concentration.
Resistance Gene
Mutations in rpsE, the S5 protein, prevent spectinomycin from binding.
Inhibiting protein synthesis
In addition to being used for selection, spectinomycin can also be used to inhibit protein synthesis, for example, to inhibit wild-type ribosome activity in the presence of orthogonal ribosomes. 150-500μg/ml spectinomycin is commonly used for this purpose. Papers using spectinomycin in this way include -
- Rackham O and Chin JW. . pmid:16408021.
- Brink MF, Verbeet MP, and de Boer HA. . pmid:7758959.
- Flynn JM, Neher SB, Kim YI, Sauer RT, and Baker TA. . pmid:12667450.


