Abstract
Streptomyces sp. No. B-1625, which was identified as a strain of Streptomyces antibioticus, is a typical producer of actinomycin, but also produces minor acidic antibiotic components (FA), besides actinomycins X2, D and X0β. The FA-components, which were obtained with a high-producing mutant, 11M-21, showed antibacterial and antitumor activities, and also similar visible and UV absorption spectra to those characteristic of actinomycin. The FA-components were separated into five components, FA1 FA2α, FA2β, FA3α and FA3β, on TLC. Among them, one component, FA3β, isolated in a purified state as an orange powder, has a composition of C, 52.97: H, 6.34: N, 10.48%, and is active against B. subtilis at a MIC of 5mcg/ml. The FA3β component showed pKa′ of 5.4 and 12.0 and λmax at 443, 427 and 233 nm. From these properties, FA3β is considered to be an acidic actinomycin congener.