Cover Picture: Cervimycin A-D: A Polyketide Glycoside Complex from a Cave Bacterium Can Defeat Vancomycin Resistance (Chem. Eur. J. 19/2005)

A novel antibiotic complex was purified from a strain of Streptomyces tendae , isolated from the wall of an ancient cave in southern Italy, shown in the cover picture. These polyketide glycosides, cervimycins A–D, demonstrated potent activity against multi‐drug‐resistant staphylococci and vancomycin‐resistant enterococci. Results of NMR and chemical degredation studies revealed the cervimycins to have a common tetracyclic polyketide core substituted with unusual di‐ and tetrasaccharide chains (see picture), but with differences in their acetyl and carbamoyl ring substituents, and in the terminal methylmalonyl and dimethylmalonyl residues. For more details, see the Full Paper by C. Hertweck and co‐workers on page 5523 ff.