# STUDY OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE MICROBIAL METABOLITES

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 1993 · $271,599

## Abstract

The research outlined in this proposal is aimed at elucidating the mode of
biosynthesis of a number of antibiotics.  Compounds and problems to be
studied include the enzymology of formation of pyrrolnitrin and
dihydrophenylalanine, the formation of cyclohexane rings in ansatrienin and
asukamycin, the formation of mC7N units in ansatrienin, naphthomycin and/or
rifamycin on the one hand, and in asukamycin and manumycin on the other,
the mode of polyketide assembly in lysolipin and in the macrodiolide
aplasmomycin, as well as the biosynthesis of reductiomycin, the novel
phenazine antibiotics, the esmeraldins and saphenamycins, and the modified
peptide antibiotics nosiheptide and thiostrepton.  The results are expected
to answer fundamental questions in antibiotic biosynthesis and lay the
ground work for biological structure modification of complex antibiotics
based on biosynthetic information.  The methods to be used include (a)
feeding experiments with precursors labeled with radioactive (14C, 3H)
and/or stable (13C, 15N, 18O, 2H) isotopes and extensive use of Fourier-
transform NMR spectroscopy for product analysis, (b) synthesis of potential
pathway intermediates and their evaluation in whole cell or cell-free
experiments, (c) isolation of enzymes carrying out some of these
transformations and (d) synthesis and use of stereospecifically labeled
substrates to probe the stereochemistry and mechanism of some of the
biosynthetic reactions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3129832
- **Project number:** 5R01AI020264-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **SAM.gov UEI:** HD1WMN6945W6
- **Principal Investigator:** HEINZ G FLOSS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $271,599
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1987-12-01 → 1994-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3129832

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3129832, STUDY OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE MICROBIAL METABOLITES (5R01AI020264-11). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3129832. Licensed CC0.

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