Inhibition of Fungal Sphingolipid Biosynthesis by Rustmicin, Galbonolide B and Their New 21-Hydroxy Analogs

The mode of action of the known antifungal macrolides rustmicin (1) and galbonolide B (2) has been determined to be the inhibition of sphingolipid biosynthesis. A large scale fermentation and isolation process was developed for production of large quantities of rustmicin. New 21-hydroxy derivatives of both compounds were isolated from pilot scale fermentations and were also produced by biotransformation of rustmicin and galbonolide B.