Title: Mode of Action of Albocycline, an Inhibitor of Nicotinate Biosynthesis
Abstract: The antibiotic albocycline blocks the synthesis of nicotinate or nicotinamide in Bacillus subtilis cells. The inhibitory activity of the agent is fully reversed by nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, and, to a moderate extent, also by quinolinate. This suggests that in B. subtilis the antibiotic interferes with a reaction step occurring prior to the formation of quinolinate within the biosynthetic pathway leading to nicotinate.