What is "tyrocidine"

n. a polypeptide antibiotic produced by bacteria in the soil

n. a basic polypeptide antibiotic derived from a soil bacterium; a major component of tyrothricin [syn: tyrocidin]

Tyrocidine is a mixture of cyclic decapeptides produced by the bacteria Bacillus brevis found in soil. It can be composed of 4 different amino acid sequences, giving tyrocidine A–D (See figure 1). Tyrocidine is the major constituent of tyrothricin, which also contains gramicidin. Tyrocidine was the first commercially available antibiotic, but has been found to be toxic toward human blood and reproductive cells. The function of tyrocidine within its host B. brevis is thought to be regulation of sporulation.

Tyrocidines A, B, and C are cyclic decapeptides. The biosynthesis of tyrocidine involves three enzymes. Parts of its sequence are identical to gramicidin S.