Actinorhodin is a redox-active antibiotic with a complex mode of action against Gram-positive cells.

摘要: Actinorhodin is a blue-pigmented, redox-active secondary metabolite that produced by the bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor. Although actinorhodin has been used as model compound for studying metabolism, its biological activity not well understood. Indeed, antibiotics in general have widely investigated at mechanistic level. In this work, we conducted comprehensive chemical genetic investigation of actinorhodin's antibacterial effect on target organisms. We find potent, bacteriostatic, pH-responsive antibiotic. Cells activate least three stress responses presence actinorhodin, including those responsible managing oxidative damage, protein damage and selected forms DNA damage. mutations Staphylococcus aureus walRKHI operon can confer low-level resistance to indicating possible targeting cell envelope. Our study indicates complex mechanism action, involving multiple molecular targets, distinct from other antibiotics.