BIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ANALOGUE ANTIBIOTIC TUBERCIDIN

Abstract
The adenosine analogue, Tubercidin, is lethally incorporated into both the cellular functions and nucleic acids of mouse leukemic fibroblasts and the viruses contained therein. Presently, it is the only analogue known to be incorporated into RNA and DNA. Since Tubercidin (Tu) and its derivatives, desamino-Tu and deoxy-Tu, are not converted into corresponding guanine analogues, the specificity of the involved enzymes could be dependent upon the imidazole portion of the purine.