What is "sparsomycin"

n. A chemical compound, initially discovered as a metabolite of the fungus ''Streptomyces sparsogenes'', that inhibits protein synthesis.

Sparsomycin is a compound, initially discovered as a metabolite of the bacterium Streptomyces sparsogenes, which binds to the 50S ribosomal subunit and inhibits protein synthesis. It is a nucleotide analogue. It is used as an anti-tumor drug and as a tool to study protein synthesis; it is not specific for bacterial ribosomes and so not usable as an antibiotic.

The compound was discovered in 1962 and the structure was determined in 1970; a first total synthesis was reported in 1981.