Aminoglycoside phosphotransferases (APHs) constitute a diverse group of enzymes that are often the underlying cause of aminoglycoside resistance in the clinical setting. Several APHs have been extensively characterized, including the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of two APH(3) isozymes and an APH(2؆) enzyme. Although many APHs are plasmid-encoded and are capable of inactivating numerous 2-deoxystreptmaine aminoglycosides with multiple regiospecificity, APH(9)-Ia, isolated from Legionella pneumophila, is an unusual enzyme among the APH family for its chromosomal origin and its specificity for a single non-2-deoxystreptamine aminoglycoside substrate, spectinomycin. We describe here the crystal structures of APH(9)-Ia in its apo form, its binary complex with the nucleotide, AMP, and its ternary complex bound with ADP and spectinomycin. The structures reveal that APH(9)-Ia adopts the bilobal protein kinase-fold, analogous to the APH(3) and APH(2؆) enzymes. However, APH(9)-Ia differs significantly from the other two types of APH enzymes in its substrate binding area and that it undergoes a conformation change upon ligand binding. Moreover, kinetic assay experiments indicate that APH(9)-Ia has stringent substrate specificity as it is unable to phosphorylate substrates of choline kinase or methylthioribose kinase despite high structural resemblance. The crystal structures of APH(9)-Ia demonstrate and expand our understanding of the diversity of the APH family, which in turn will facilitate the development of new antibiotics and inhibitors.Aminoglycosides are a class of commonly used broadspectrum antibiotics that target the bacterial ribosome. They are characterized by their signature chemical structure, an aminocyclitol nucleus. These antibiotics can be further categorized into two groups: the first group includes those that contain a 2-deoxystreptamine core, such as kanamycin, and the second, smaller group includes those that contain a non-2-deoxystreptamine core (Fig. 1A). Spectinomycin has a streptamine core and it is used in the treatment of acute gonococcal infections (1). Unfortunately, the efficacy of aminoglycosides has been compromised due to the continuous rise of drug resistance in pathogens. Resistance to aminoglycosides can be attributed to several mechanisms, of which enzymatic inactivation of the aminoglycoside is the most prevalent in the clinical setting. Aminoglycosides can be inactivated by the addition of an acetyl, a nucleotidyl, or a phosphate group by acetyltransferases, nucleotidyltransferases, or phosphotransferases (kinases; APHs), 5 respectively (2). Nomenclature of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes follows the convention proposed by Shaw et al. (2): the type of modifying enzyme is identified by acetyltransferase, nucleotidyltransferase, or APH; this is followed by, in parentheses, the enzyme regiospecificity; then the substrate profile is designated by a roman numeral, and the unique amino acid sequence is denoted by a small letter.APHs generally yield high levels of resista...