Fumimycin:: A peptide deformylase inhibitor with an unusual skeleton produced by Aspergillus fumisynnematus

Fumimycin, an unusual metabolite incorporating an unusual alanine unit linked to a phenyl group at the alpha-carbon with both lactone and amide moieties, was isolated from cultures of Aspergillus fumisynnematus. Its structure was established by spectral analysis. Fumimycin was found to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus peptide deformylase with an IC50 value of 4.1 mu Mu and also showed antibacterial activity against S. aureus.