Novel microbial geldanamycin derivatives and cyclopentenone ansamycins from an abandoned coal mine

Digging around in the dark can sometimes lead to interesting results: in the acidic waters of an abandoned coal mine in Kentucky (USA), researchers discovered ten previously unknown microbial natural products from a strain of Streptomyces. They have now introduced these compounds in the journal Angewandte Chemie. Four of the molecules contain a cyclopentenone ring, which is rare in this class of substances.