Oxytetracycline is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The features of its biosynthesis often serve as a representative example for understanding the synthesis of other type II polyketides.1 Oxytetracycline is also used to examine the acquisition of oxytetracycline-resistance genes, which are associated with the development of antibiotic resistance.2
1.Pickens, L.B., and Tang, Y.Oxytetracycline biosynthesisJ. Biol. Chem.285(36)27509-27515(2010) 2.Roberts, M.C.Update on acquired tetracycline resistance genesFEMS Microbiol Lett.245195-203(2005)