Studies on new phosphonic acid antibiotics. I. FR-900098, isolation and characterization.

A strain of Streptomyces, isolated from a soil sample and identified as Streptomyces rubellomurinus sp. nov., has been found to produce FR-900098, an interesting new antibiotic containing phosphorus in its molecule. The antibiotic, obtained as colorless crystals, was shown to inhibit a wide variety of Gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas, Proteus, and Escherichia coli. Its antibacterial action involves interference with bacterial cell wall synthesis as evidenced by the fact that it causes spheroplast formation by susceptible cells.