Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 25, 2026

Phosalacine

Phosalacine is a natural antimicrobial and herbicidal compound that has been isolated from the Actinobacteria Kitasatosporia phosalacinea.

Last revised
Jul 25, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
242 w
Citations
5
Source
Phosalacine
source ↗
Names
IUPAC name
(2S)-2-[[(2S)-2-[[(2S)-2-amino-4-[hydroxy(methyl)phosphoryl]butanoyl]amino]propanoyl]amino]-4-methylpentanoic acid
Other names
(2S)-2-Amino-4-(hydroxymethylphosphinyl)butanoyl-L-alanyl-L-leucine
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
  • InChI=1S/C14H28N3O6P/c1-8(2)7-11(14(20)21)17-12(18)9(3)16-13(19)10(15)5-6-24(4,22)23/h8-11H,5-7,15H2,1-4H3,(H,16,19)(H,17,18)(H,20,21)(H,22,23)/t9-,10-,11-/m0/s1
    Key: GRIZBDACBCXJCF-DCAQKATOSA-N
  • C[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CCP(=O)(C)O)N
Properties
C14H28N3O6P
Molar mass 365.367 g·mol−1
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

Phosalacine is a natural antimicrobial and herbicidal compound that has been isolated from the Actinobacteria Kitasatosporia phosalacinea.1

It is a tripeptide consisting of the amino acids glufosinate (phosphinothricin), alanine, and leucine.2 It is similar in structure to bialaphos, differing by replacement of the terminal alanine with leucine.

Phosalacine has antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and some fungi.1 It also shows herbicidal activity against alfalfa.1 It is believed that the herbicidal activity is due to the slow release of glufosinate,3 which is a commercially-used broad spectrum herbicide.

References

References

  1. Omura, Satoshi; Murata, Masatsune; Hanaki, Hideaki; Hinotozawa, Kiyoizumi; Oiwa, Ruiko; Tanaka, Haruo (1984). "Phosalacine, a new herbicidal antibiotic containing phosphinothricin. Fermentation, isolation, biological activity and mechanism of action". The Journal of Antibiotics. 37 (8): 829–835. doi:10.7164/antibiotics.37.829. PMID 6480502.
  2. Omura, Satoshi; Hinotozawa, Kiyoizumi; Imamura, Nobutaka; Murata, Masatsune (1984). "The structure of phosalacine, a new herbicidal antibiotic containing phosphinothricin". The Journal of Antibiotics. 37 (8): 939–940. doi:10.7164/antibiotics.37.939. PMID 6480509. S2CID 9186238.
  3. Hoagland, Robert E. (1988). "Naturally Occurring Carbon—Phosphorus Compounds as Herbicides". Biologically Active Natural Products. ACS Symposium Series. Vol. 380. pp. 182–210. doi:10.1021/bk-1988-0380.ch013. ISBN 9780841215566.