Massadine, a highly oxygenated alkaloid, was isolated from the marine sponge Stylissa aff. massa as an inhibitor of geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase I). The structure of massadine has been deduced from spectral data. Massidine inhibited GGTase I from Candida albicans with an IC(50) value of 3.9 microM. [structure: see text]

Thermostability of enzyme can be enhanced by single amino acid substitutions. Recent advances in genetic engineering have made it possible to create novel proteins in a predictable manner where structural information for the protein is available. This 'protein engineering' has already been used to enhance enzyme thermostability, but it is usually not clear which amino acid substitutions should be made. We consider that the following approach should be helpful in engineering proteins with enhanced thermostability: highly conserved residues should be left unchanged; the sequences of known mesophilic and thermophilic proteins should be used to suggest the kinds of changes likely to increase thermostability; and substitutions should be made that increase internal hydrophobicity and that stabilize helices for strong internal packing. We describe here the use of this approach to alter the thermostability of the thermostable neutral protease of Bacillus stearothermophilus, the sequence of which is known. Surprisingly we find that a single mutation that decreases thermostability can require two mutations that increase stability to compensate for it. The effects on stability are not additive, suggesting cooperativity.

In the course of a screening program, a novel quinolone antibiotic, YM-30059 (Fig. 1) was isolated from the culture broth of Arthrobacter sp. YL-02729S. YM-30059 exhibited relatively high antibacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria including multiple-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis. The present paper deals with the taxonomy of the producing organism, fermentation, isolation, structure elucidation and biological activity of the new antibiotic.

Two new polyacetylenic acids, corticatic acids D (2) and E (3), have been isolated from the marine sponge Petrosia corticata along with the known corticatic acid A (1) as geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase I) inhibitors. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical methods. Compounds 1-3 inhibited GGTase I from Candida albicans with IC(50) values of 1.9-7.3 microM.