Neoberninamycin, a new antibiotic produced by Micrococcus luteus.

In the course of searching for novel compounds that bind to the 50S subunit of the bacterial ribosome and inhibit protein synthesis, we have found a novel antibiotic with potent activity against Gram-positive bacteria and anaerobes.The antibiotic, neoberninamycin, is produced by a strain of Micrococcus luteus isolated from a soil sample taken in Highbridge, New Jersey.In this note, we describe the taxonomy of the producing organism, the production, isolation, physico-chemical and biological properties of this novel antibiotic, as well as its relationship to the known sulfur-containing peptide antibiotic, berninamycin A.