Cat. No.	Volume
Hygromycin B	P15-014	500 mg
	P21-014	1 g
Hygromycin B Solution (50mg/ml)	P02-015	20 ml

Hygromycin B is a unique aminoglycoside antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces hygroscopicus. It can be used as a selective antibiotic in molecular genetics and in cell culture experiments to inhibit the growth of prokaryotic (bacteria) and eukaryotic microorganis­ms (yeasts) as well as mammalian cells. Resistance to Hygromycin B is used for the identification or selection of recombinant clones in a variety of cell types.

Hygromycin B resistance is conferred by the E. coli gene hph which is coding for the kinase HPT (Hygromycin phosphotransferase). This kinase inactiva­tes Hygromycin B through phosphorylation. By recom­binant DNA techniques the gene was isolated and a variety of vectors have been constructed containing the resistance gene fused with eukaryotic promoters to mediate Hygromycin B resistance in various cells.
Hygromycin B inhibits the protein synthesis at the translocation step by interfering with the 70S riboso­me causing misreading of the mRNA. It is effective on most bacteria, fungi and higher eukaryotes.

The sensitivity of cells for Hygromycin B depends on the pH of the culture medium. The sensitivity rises with an increasing pH. Thus, the concentration of Hygromycin B required for complete growth inhibition of given cells can be reduced by increasing the pH of the medium. Using media with a lower salt concentra­tion can also result in a decrease of the Hygromycin B  needed.

Formula: C₂₀H₃₇N₃O₁₃ x HCl

Molecular Weight: 527.0 g/mol

Most cells growing aerobically are killed by Hygromycin B in the concentration range of between 50 and 800 µg/ml.