Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2000, p. 1413-1417, Vol. 44, No. 6
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, J. H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee
State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614
Received 29 June 1999/Returned for modification 24 December
1999/Accepted 17 February 2000
The effects of the everninomicin antibiotic evernimicin (SCH27899)
on growing Staphylococcus aureus cells were investigated. Cellular growth rates and viable cell numbers decreased with increasing antibiotic concentrations. The rate of protein synthesis, measured as
35S-amino acid incorporation, declined in parallel with the
growth rate. Significantly, the formation of the 50S ribosomal subunit was inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion as well. 30S ribosomal subunit synthesis was not affected over the same concentration range.
Evernimicin did not stimulate the breakdown of mature ribosomal subunits. Pulse-chase labeling experiments revealed a reduced rate of
50S subunit formation in drug-treated cells. Two erythromycin-resistant strains of S. aureus that carried the ermC gene
were as sensitive as wild-type cells to antibiotic inhibition. In
addition, two methicillin-resistant S. aureus organisms,
one sensitive to erythromycin and one resistant to the macrolide,
showed similar sensitivities to evernimicin. These results suggest a
use for this novel antimicrobial agent against antibiotic-resistant
bacterial infections.
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Evernimicin (SCH27899) Inhibits both Translation and 50S
Ribosomal Subunit Formation in Staphylococcus aureus
Cells
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, J. H. Quillen College of
Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614. Phone: (423) 439-4651. Fax: (423) 439-8235. E-mail:
champney{at}etsu.edu.
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