Antimicrobial activity of N-acetyl-phenylalanine produced from Streptomyces sp. G91353

For screening of the compounds exhibiting antimicrobial activities against the D-alanyl-D-alanine of Gram positive bacteria, approximately 2,500 actinomycetes isolated from soil were examined for antimicrobial activity. In consequence, we recently isolated the Streptomyces sp. G91353 strain produced an active compound, A91353, that inhibits the growth of Gram positive bacteria. A91353 was identified as N-acetyl-phenylalanine by various spectroscopic methods. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of N-acetyl-phenylalanine on Gram positive bacteria such as Streptococcus pyogenes 308A, Streptococcus pyogenes 77A were determined as 50 μg/ml, respectively, but did not effect on Gram negative strains. These results indicate that N-acetyl-phenylalanine have an antimicrobial activity, which may be caused by the disturbance of D-alanyl-D-alanine synthesis.