[Effect of heliomycin on protein and nucleic acid synthesis in Escherichia coli]

Heliomycin at a concentration of 100 mcg/ml had almost no effect on the growth of Escherichia coli, which was inhibited only upon the combined action of heliomycin and ethanol that facilitated the penetration of the antibiotic into the cell. Heliomycin inhibited in these conditions the synthesis of RNA and had no effect on the synthesis of DNA in the three studied strains of E. coli. The synthesis of protein either was not inhibited by heliomycin at all or was inhibited only to a small extent.