Studies on bacterial cell wall inhibitors III. 3-amino-3-deoxy- D-glucose, an inhibitor of bacterial cell wall synthesis

Abstract

It was shown that 3-amino-3-deoxy- D-glucose, one of the constituents of the kanamycin molecule and a metabolite of Bacillus sp., inhibits the bacterial synthesis of cell wall. The antibiotic (100 μg/ml) significantly inhibits the growth of Straphylococcis aureus FDA 209P as well as the incorporation of DL-[ 14C]alanine into the acid-insoluble macromolecular fraction of its growing cells in the presence of chloramphenicol (100 μg/ml). In contrast, the antibiotic doed not affect the incorporation of [ 3H]thymidine, [ 3H]uridine and L-[ 14C]leucine. The other constituents of kanamycin, 6-amino-6-deoxy- D-glucose and deoxystreptamine do not inhibit the synthesis of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan.