Albucidin: a novel bleaching herbicide from Streptomyces albus subsp. chlorinus NRRL B-24108

A novel nucleoside phytotoxin, albucidin (1), was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces albus subsp. chlorinus NRRL B-24108 using bioassay directed fractionation. The structure of the new natural product, albucidin, was determined by NMR and MS; however, the compound has been reported earlier in the literature following synthetic modification of oxetanocin. This is the first report of herbicidal activity for compounds of this structural type. Albucidin shows high levels of broad spectrum activity following post-emergence applications as well as moderate levels of pre-emergence activity. Accordingly, albucidin could be an important new lead for herbicide discovery.