We have cloned and determined the nucleotide sequence of the gene ereA of plasmid pIP1100 which confers high-level resistance to erythromycin (Em) in Escherichia coli. The gene was defined by initiation and termination codons and by in vitro insertion-inactivation into an open reading frame (ORF) of 1032 bp corresponding to a product with an Mr of 37 765. However, the enzyme, an Em esterase, displayed an apparent Mr of 43 000 upon electrophoresis of a minicell extract on the SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The G + C content (50.5%) of the gene ereA and the preferential codon usage in its ORF suggest that this resistance determinant should be indigenous to E. coli.