Deltamycin A2

Carbomycin A (deltamycin A4) was deepoxidized to carbomycin A P1 by Streptomyces halstedii subsp. deltae (a deltamycins producer), favorably under anaerobic conditions. Carbomycin A P1 was spontaneously converted to geometric isomers designated carbomycins A P2 and A P3. This type of deepoxidation and subsequent isomerization was not limited to carbomycin A, but generally occurrable in other 16-membered epoxyenone macrolide compounds. Many bacteria and actinomycetes were also found to have an ability to deepoxidize deltamycins reductively. The chemical structures of carbomycins A P1, A P2 and A P3 were elucidated as shown in Fig. 3.

The structures of deltamycins A1,A2,A3 and A4 belonging to the basic macrolide family of antibiotics were determined mainly from their spectral properties. Deltamycin A4 was identified as carbomycin A having an isovaleryl group on the mycarose moiety of the molecule. Deltamycin A1,A2 and A3 possess similarities to the structure of deltamycin A4, but they have acetyl, propionyl and n-butyryl group, respectively, in the place of isovaleryl group of deltamycin A4. These structures were confirmed by chemical synthesis from deltamycin X (4''-O-deacyldeltamycin) and the corresponding acyl chlorides.

The new macrolide antibiotics were isolated by silica gel chromatography. They showed a UV absorption maximum at 240 nm. Deltamycins A1, A2 and A3 were demonstrated to be new macrolide antibiotics on the basis of their physicochemical properties whereas deltamycin A4 was identified as carbomycin A.