Ripostatins are polyene macrolactones isolated from myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum. They exhibit antibiotic activity by inhibiting bacterial RNA-polymerase through a binding site and mechanism different from those of current antibacterial drugs and thus serve as starting pointsfor the development of new anti-infective agents with a novel mode of action. In this work, several derivatives of ripostatins were produced. The 15-desoxy-ripostatin A was synthesized using one-pot carboalumination/cross-coupling. The 5,6-dihydro-ripostatin A was constructed utilizing an intramolecular Suzuki cross-coupling macrolactonization approach, and 14,14'-difluroripostatin A and both epimeric 14,14'-difluroripostatins B were synthesized using a Reformatsky-type aldol addition of haloketone, Stille cross-coupling and ring-closing metathesis. RNAP-inhibitrory and antibacterial activities are presented. Structure-activity relationships indicate that that the monocyclic keto-ol form of ripostatin A is the active form of ripostatin A, that the ripostatin 5-6 unsaturation is important for activity, and that C14 geminal difluorination can be introduced into ripostatin B without loss of activity