Pfizer Handbook of Microbial Metabolites 702 



A survey has shown that a-tocopherol is the only form 

 of vitamin E found in bacteria."-' It was found in about 

 a dozen chlorophyll-containing organisms, although not 

 in all such bacteria which were studied. Its production 

 is not limited to any particular type of chlorophyll-con- 

 taining bacterium. Tocopherol production seemed to 

 parallel chlorophyll production, and it was suggested that 

 the same phytol precursor might be used for both. 



d. XANTHONES 



A labeled precursor investigation of ravenelin by Birch 

 and associates has shown that orsellinic acid is an inter- 

 mediate in the biosynthesis of xanthones.^®° 



e. COMPOUNDS RELATED TO THIOPHENE, IMIDAZOLE, 

 THIAZOLE AND ISOXAZOLE 



A comparison of the effects of D-cycloserine and of d- 

 alanine on the incorporation of D,L-alanine-l-C^^ into bac- 

 terial proteins showed that D-cycloserine acts as a d- 

 alanine antagonist. ^^^' ^'*- 



A paper has been published on the lability of 2-acetyl- 

 thiazolium salts and in support of the proposed mode of 

 action of thiamine. ^-^ 



A paper on the enzymatic formation of thiamine and 

 phosphate esters of the pyrimidine moiety seems to be 

 the first of a series on the biosynthesis of thiamine."* A 

 dissertation on the biosynthesis of the thiazole moiety has 

 been published."^ 



i"9 J. Green, S. Price and L. Gare, Nature 184 1339 (1959). 



180 Private communication from Herchel Smith. 



^^^ P. Barbieri, A. diMarco, L. Fuoco and A. Rusconi, Biochem. 

 Pharmacol. 3 101 (1960). 



182 p Barbieri, A. diMarco, L. Fuoco, P. Julita, A. Migliacci and A. 

 Rusconi, ibid. 3 264 (1960). 



1"-* Ronald Breslow and Edward McNeils, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 82 2394 

 (1960). 



^>** Gerald W. Camiener and Gene M. Brown, J. Biol. Chem. 235 

 2411 (1960). 



"^ J. Vogel, Dissertation, University of Bonn, 1960. 



