Novel tetrapeptide inhibitors of bacterial protein synthesis produced by a Streptomyces sp

The production, isolation and structure determination in Streptomyces sp. of the novel, potent and selective tetrapeptide inhibitors, GE81112 factors A, B, and B1, of cell-free bacterial protein synthesis, are reported. The novelty of the chemical structure and the specific mode of action make GE81112, which stably bind the 30S ribosomal subunit and inhibit the formation of fMet-puromycin, a unique scaffold for designing new drugs.