Discovery and Characterization of the Tuberculosis Drug Lead Ecumicin

The new tuberculosis (TB) lead ecumicin (1), a cyclic tridecapeptide, was isolated from Nonomuraea sp. MJM5123, following a high-throughput campaign for anti-TB activity. The large molecular weight of 1599 amu detected by LC-HR-MS precluded the initial inference of its molecular formula. The individual building blocks were identified by extensive NMR experiments. The resulting two possible planar structures were distinguished by LC-MS2. Determination of absolute configuration and unambiguous structural confirmation were carried out by X-ray crystallography and Marfey's analysis.