Polypeptide antibiotic structurally similar to nisin, q.v., but contains no methionine. Produced by Bacillus subtilis (NRRL no. B-543): E. F. Jansen, D. J. Hirshmann, Arch. Biochem. 4, 297 (1944); Lewis et al., ibid. 14, 415 (1947); Dimick et al., ibid. 15, 1 (1947). Isoln by partition chromatography on silica gel: Alderton, Snell, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 81, 701 (1959). Early structural studies: Stracher, Craig, ibid. 696. Structure is a heterodetic pentacyclic peptide consisting of 32 amino acid residues and containing unusual amino acids such as lanthionine, β-methyllanthionine, d-alanine, dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine: E. Gross et al., Z. Physiol. Chem. 354, 810 (1973). Biosynthetic studies: C. Nishio et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 116, 751 (1983); S. Banerjee, J. N. Hansen, J. Biol. Chem. 263, 9508 (1988).