| Natamycine is widely used as an antifungal compound on the surface of food products (sausages and cheeses). It can be used at very low concentrations, has a broad specificity and no resistance is known. The mechanism of action of this compound has never been elucidated. Related antibiotics (amphotericine and filipin) bind to the important fungal membrane compound ergosterol, and insert into the plasma membrane. Natamycine also binds to ergosterol, but is too small to form pores. Novel insights into membrane processes make a study of natamycine mechanism very interesting. While natamycine attacks only growing hyphae, it may interfere with dynamic cellular processes. Currently we are researching the role of natamycin as a membrane perturbator in fungal conidia and hyphae. |
