We demonstrated that the rox gene of Nocardia farcinica encodes a rifampicin monooxygenase capable of converting rifampicin to a new compound 2¢-N-hydroxy-4-oxo-rifampicin with a markedly lowered antibiotic activity. The deletion mutation (Drox) of the rox gene gave no significant influence to the rifampicin resistance of N. farcinica. However, transformation with a plasmid containing an overexpressing the rox gene markedly raised the rifampicin resistance in the strain with the deletion mutation of the rpoB2 gene as the principal rifampicin resistance determinant. On the other hand, rifampicin was decolorized by the wild-type strain, whereas it remained intact when incubated with the Drox strain. Based on these results, it will be conclusive that the rox gene is capable of initiating rifampicin degradation with a new metabolite formation at the first step and having a role as the secondary rifampicin resistance factor in N. farcinica.

A new pentacyclic steroid, xestobergsterol C [1], possessing a cis C/D ring junction, has been isolated together with two known compounds, xestobergsterols A [2] and B [3], from the Okinawan marine sponge Ircinia sp., and the structure determined on the basis of spectral data. Reexamination of the nmr data of xestobergsterols A [2] and B [3] resulted in revision of the configuration at C-23 and of the conformation of ring D in 2 and 3. The absolute stereochemistry of xestobergsterol A [2] was established by the cd exciton chirality method.

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The first syntheses of new antibiotics UPA0043 and UPA0044 were accomplished starting from commercially available 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid and vanillin. The present syntheses involve the coupling of a sesquiterpenoid aldehyde and an aryllithium, the stereoselective formation of a p-quinone-methide system, and regioselective intramolecular cyclization via an epoxy ring opening. [reaction: see text]