Studies on bacillomycin D biosynthesis by Bacillus subtilis.

The biosynthesis of bacillomycin D, an antibiotic containing a beta-amino fatty acid and a peptide moiety with asparagine, glutamic acid, serine, proline, threonine, and tyrosine, was studied by incubating the Bacillus subtilis producer with various 14C-labelled precursors. Sodium acetate was incorporated into beta-amino fatty acids of bacillomycin D, and asparagine was the best precursor of the peptidic moiety. The kinetics of the incorporation of radioactive substrates into bacillomycin D and into beta-amino fatty acids show that the lipid and the peptide moieties of the antibiotic were synthesized at the same stage of growth of the bacteria. Comparing the effects of different inhibitors on the incorporation of radioactive precursors, the bacillomycin D and beta-amino fatty acids biosyntheses are discussed in relation to the biosyntheses of proteins, lipids and with sporulation.