STRUCTURAL ELUCIDATION OF AIBELLIN, A NEW PEPTIDE ANTIBIOTIC WITH EFFICIENCY ENHANCING ACTIVITY ON RUMEN FERMENTATION

A new peptide antibiotic, aibellin, that had the efficiency enhancing activity on rumen fermentation, was isolated from the culture broth of the fungus, Verticimonosporium ellipticum D1528, and its primary stru cture was elucidated from spectrometric analysis and chemical degradat ion. Aibellin is a 20-residue peptaibol, and it has a unique structura l feature in the novel C-terminal amino alcohol. Moreover, aibellin is the first peptaibol that possesses two acidic amino acids in the C-te rminal region and a Phe residue in the middle of the sequence.