Crocacin, a new electron transport inhibitor from Chondromyces crocatus (myxobacteria). Production, isolation, physico-chemical and biological properties.

Crocacin was isolated from the biomass of the myxobacterium Chondromyces crocatus, strain Cm c3. It inhibited the growth of a few Gram-positive bacteria and a wide spectrum of yeasts and molds. In beef heart submitochondrial particles, crocacin blocked the electron transport within the bc1-segment (complex III) and caused a red shift in the reduced spectrum of cytochrome b with a maximum at 569 nm.