Year: 1988
Type: article
Abstract: Anew antibiotic, aerocavin, has been isolated from fermentation broths of a non-pigmented strain of Chromobacterium violaceum.The structure 1 was deduced from its spectroscopic properties and X-ray diffraction analysis.Aerocavin exhibits activity in vitro against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.In the course of screening for antibiotics with activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, we found a new natural product, aerocavin.In this paper we describe the taxonomyof the producing organism, fermentation, isolation, structure and physico-chemical properties of the compound including its biological properties. TaxonomyThe organism producing aerocavin was isolated from a water sample collected in Allamuchy Mountain State Park, NewJersey.It is a Gram-negative rod that is motile by means of monotrichous polar flagella.Lateral to sub-polar flagella are occasionally seen.The organism is cytochrome oxidase-positive, metabolizes glucose fermentatively without the production of gas, and is resistant to the vibriostat, 2}4-diamino-6,7-diisopropylpteridine.These characteristics are shared by members of both Aeromonasand Chromobacterium.Our organism is non-pigmented and was found to share key differentiating properties with both genera making proper generic assignment by conventional microbiological tests difficult.Non-pigmented strains of Chromobacterium have been reported and are frequently mistaken for aeromonads^.The DNAdot blot test was used to resolve this impasse.DNAwas isolated from the aerocavinproducing strain and was labeled with 32P by nick translation by the method of Feinberg and Vogelstein2).This was used as the probe against DNA from reference cultures of Aeromonasand Chromobacterium that had been immobilized on nitrocellulose filters.Hybridization was carried out in 3X SSC with formamide at 37°C overnight50.Upon completion of hybridization, the unbound probe was removed and the filters were washed to remove any residual unbound DNA.The filters were dried and assayed by autoradiography.The probe was found to bind only to DNAfrom pigmented and non-pigmented strains of Chromobacterium.Based on this evidence our culture is considered to be a non-pigmented strain of Chromobacterium violaceum.It has been deposited with the American Type Culture Collection under accession number ATCC53434.
Source: The Journal of Antibiotics
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2035983545