Autolytic effect of the antibiotic produced by Myxococcus coralloides D.

Myxococcus coralloides D secretes an antibiotic, named corallolysin, when grown on a rich medium. When a critical concentration is reached, this antibiotic lyses the producer bacterium either during vegetative growth or during morphogenesis. Corallolysin has not effect on resting cells nor on myxospores. The autolytic effect is caused by the early inhibition of RNA synthesis.