The influence of syringomycin on ribonucleic acid synthesis

Syringomycin, a wide-spectrum antibiotic produced by strains of Pseudomonas syringae which cause bacterial canker of peach, was able to bind to salmon sperm and calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid but not to calf thymus histone; it also inhibited ribonucleic acid polymerase activity. These abilities to bind to deoxyribonucleic acid and to inhibit ribonucleic acid polymerase were inactivated when the phytotoxic and antibiotic properties of syringomycin were inactivated.