期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1977
卷号：74
期号：4
页码：1478-1482
DOI：10.1073/pnas.74.4.1478
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：This paper describes a novel biochemical effect of gramicidin, a class of peptide antibiotics produced by Bacillus brevis during the transition from vegetative growth to sporulation. Gramicidin inhibits RNA synthesis by purified RNA polymerase (nucleosidetriphosphate:RNA nucleotidyl-transferase, EC 2.7.7.6 ) by interfering with the binding of RNA polymerase to DNA. This effect seems to involve the destabilization of the "open" RNA polymerase-DNA complex, a mode of action consistent with the control of promoter selection. Selectivity in the inhibition of RNA synthesis by gramicidin is observed when transcription is partially blocked by low levels of actinomycin D. Since the inhibition of RNA synthesis by gramicidin is obtained in a highly purified system devoid of membranes, it must be distinct from the ionophoretic activity of the antibiotic. It is possible that this new mode of action reflects the function of gramicidin during bacterial sporulation.
