Pulvomycin, an inhibitor of protein biosynthesis preventing ternary complex formation between elongation factor Tu, GTP, and aminoacyl-tRNA.

Pulvomycin and the synonymous antibiotics labilomycin and 1063-Z are shown to inhibit prokaryotic protein synthesis by acting on elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu): in the presence of the antibiotic, the affinity of EF-Tu for guanine nucleotides is altered, the EF-Tu.GDP/GTP exchange is catalyzed, and the formation of the EF-Tu.GTP complex is stimulated. Hydrolysis of GTP by EF-Tu, induced by aminoacyl-tRNA, ribosomes, and mRNA or by kirromycin, is inhibited by pulvomycin. As shown by Millipore filtration, chromatographic analysis, and hydrolysis protection experiments, pulvomycin prevents interaction between aminoacyl-tRNA and EF-Tu.GTP to yield the ternary complex aminoacyl-tRNA.EF-Tu.GTP. Thus, enzymatic binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to ribosomes is blocked.