Abstract
The clavams valclavam and hydroxyethylclavam were both bacteriostatic and fungistatic. The molecular basis for growth inhibition of Escherichia coli was a non-competitive inhibition of homoserine-O-succinyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.46), thus blocking methionine biosynthesis. Eucaryotes such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae were inhibited by a different mode of action. Instead of interfering with methionine biosynthesis, the clavams inhibited the formation of RNA in living cells, although the RNA-polymerases of isolated yeast nuclei were not inhibited. The action of valclavam on E. coli was dependent on functional peptide transport systems.
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Abbreviations
- CoA:
-
coenzyme A
- mic:
-
mimimal inhibitory concentration
- SAM:
-
S-adenosylmethionine
- TCA:
-
trichloroacetic acid Offprint requests to: H. Zähner
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Metabolic products of microorganisms 241 (Metabolic products of microorganisms, 240. Rohr J, Zeeck A (1987) Urdamycins, new angucycline antibiotic form Streptomyces fradiae. II. Structural studies of urdamycin B to F. J Antibiotics, in press
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Röhl, F., Rabenhorst, J. & Zähner, H. Biological properties and mode of action of clavams. Arch. Microbiol. 147, 315–320 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406126
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406126