|
|Section2= }} Tyrocidine is a mixture of cyclic decapeptides produced by the bacteria ''Bacillus brevis'' found in soil. It can be composed of 4 different amino acid sequences, giving tyrocidine A–D (See figure 1). Tyrocidine is the major constituent of tyrothricin, which also contains gramicidin.〔Pubchem: Tyrocidine and Tyrothricin.〕 Tyrocidine was the first commercially available antibiotic, but has been found to be toxic toward human blood and reproductive cells. The function of tyrocidine within its host ''B. brevis'' is thought to be regulation of sporulation. Tyrocidines A, B, and C are cyclic decapeptides. The biosynthesis of tyrocidine involves three enzymes. Parts of its sequence are identical to gramicidin S. ==History== In 1939, the American microbiologist René Dubos discovered the soil microbe ''Bacillus brevis''. He observed the ability of the microbe to decompose the capsule of pneumococcus bacterium, rendering it harmless. From the soil microbe ''B. brevis'', he isolated tyrothricin, which had a high toxicity to a large range of bacteria. Tyrothricin was later found to be a mixture of the peptides gramicidin and tyrocidine. These were observed to have toxic effects in red blood cells and reproductive cells in humans, however, if applied externally as an ointment tyrocidine could also be used as a potent antimicrobial agent. Dubos's discovery helped revive interest in research on penicillin. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tyrocidine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|