The amino acid sequence of the novel lantibiotic epilancin K7 from Staphylococcus epidermidis K7 was determined by NMR spectroscopy. NMR spectroscopy was used because sequencing by conventional Edman degradation techniques was prohibited by internal sequence blocks owing to the presence of modified residues. Epilancin K7 consists of 31 residues, including two a,P-didehydroalanine (one-letter code U) and two a$-didehydrobutyrine (0) residues, one lanthionine (A-S-A), two p-methyllanthionines (A*-S-A), and six lysines. Epilancin K7 has a molecular mass of 3032 5 1.5 Da. The amino acid sequence of epilancin K7 was derived from both through-space dipolar proton-proton interactions and throughbond scalar proton-carbon interactions as detected by two-dimensional 'H-NOESY, 'H-ROESY and threedimensional 'H-TOCSY-NOESY, and by two-dimensional 'H,'T-heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation spectroscopy, respectively. The sequence is as follows : r s i rshs7 XAUVLKOUIKVAKKYAKGVA*LA* AGANIOGGK.The N-terminal residue X partly resembles an alanine but its exact nature is unclear. The organization of the sulfide-bridge-containing (P-methyl-)lanthionines was revealed by 'H-NMR and 'H,I3C-NMR spectroscopy. Epilancin K7 has a linear structure and a high positive net charge, and therefore is classified as a type-A lantibiotic. NMR analysis of a degraded though still active form of epilancin K7 showed that two N-terminal residues of epilancin K7 were missing, owing to decomposition at the a$-didehydro alanine at position 3 ; it was called the epilancin K7-(3-31)-peptide (peptide fragment of epilancin K7 consisting of positions 3 -31). The usefulness of three-dimensional 'H-TOCSY-NOESY, and two-dimensional 'H,'3C-heter~n~~lear multiple-bond correlation spectroscopy at natural abundance for the study of (modified) polypeptides is demonstrated.Keywords. Bacteriocin; HMBC spectroscopy; lanthionine; post-translational modification; primary structure.Lantibiotics are defined as gene-encoded, ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial polypeptides (19-34 residues, 1800-3500 Da) that contain unusual (P-methyl-)lanthionines and a$-didehydro residues as the result of post-translational modifications Jung and Sahl, 1991;Bierbaum and Sahl, 1993;Hansen, 1993 Abbreviations. A* or Abu,, 2-aminobutyrine or P-methylalanine moiety of /hnethyllanthionine ; Ala,, alanine moiety of lanthionine and P-methyllanthionine ; C', main-chain carbonyl (C =0) carbon ; COSY, correlated spectroscopy; 6, chemical shift; U or Dha, a,b-didehydroalanine ; 0 or Dhb, a$-didehydrobutyrine ; DQ-COSY, double-quantum