Resistance to the antibiotics viomycin and capreomycin in the Streptomyces species which produce them.

Viomycin capreomycin, antibiotics produced by Streptomyces vinaceus and S. capreolus respectively, are potent inhibitors of bacterial protein synthesis. Although these organisms are highly tolerant of their own products in vivo, their ribosomes are fully sensitive to the action of the drugs in vitro. However, they processes novel, antibiotic-inactivating enzymes (viomycin phosphotransferase, capreomycin phosphotransferase, capreomycin acetyltransferase) which, in addition to possible biosynthetic roles, may contribute to the resistances observed in vivo.