Abstract
Effect of angustmycin C, an adenosine analogue having an unusual sugar linked to adenine, on Eecherichia coli was studied. It inhibited biosynthesis of RNA and DNA preferentially and xanthosine was excreted from the inhibited cells into the medium. During the course of its growth with addition of the antibiotic, the specific activity of inosine-5'-phosphate dehydrogenase of E. coli cells increased six times. These effects could be explained by the inhibitory effect of angustmycin C on xanthosine-5'-phosphate aminase which resulted in decreased level of IMP-dehydrogenase. Accumulation of xanthosine induced by the antibiotic reached the concentration of 940μg/ml under an appropriate condition.
