Inducible MLS resistance gene of Bacillus licheniformis specified by erm K was subcloned in Bacillus subtilis and the DNA sequence corresponding to its control region was determined. The determinant erm K was in Pvu II=Hind III fragment, which was 1.3 kb. The leader region is capable of forming a complex series of inverted complementary repeat sequences (ICRS) centering on at least six axes of symmetry, some of them mutually exclusive, in a way that resulted ultimately in post-transcriptional unmasking of the ribosome loading site for methylase synthesis.