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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Synthesis of Masarimycin, a Small Molecule Inhibitor of Gram-Positive Bacterial Growth
Published on: January 7, 2022
Natalamycin A, an Ansamycin from a Termite-Associated Streptomyces sp
Ki Hyun Kim1, Timothy R Ramadhar1, Christine Beemelmanns1
1Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, 240 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States of America.
Abstract:
We report a preliminary functional and complete structural characterization of a highly unusual geldanamycin analog, natalamycin A, that was isolated from Streptomyces strain M56 recovered from a South African nest of Macrotermes natalensis termites. Bioassay-guided fractionation based on antifungal activity led to the isolation of natalamycin A, and a combination of NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallographic analysis, including highly-accurate quantum-chemical NMR calculations on the largest and most conformationally-flexible system to date, revealed natalamycin A's three-dimensional solid- and solution-state structure. This structure along with the structures of related compounds isolated from the same source suggest a geldanamycin-like biosynthetic pathway with unusual post-PKS modifications.
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