Antibiotic inhibitors of the peptidyl transferase center. 1. clindamycin as a composite analogue of the transfer RNA fragments L-Pro-Met and the D-ribosyl ring of adenosine

Clindamycinʹs three-dimensional structure is shown via a computer rendered stereomodel to be strikingly similar to L-Pro-Met and the D-ribosyl ring of adenosine. This discovery has important implications for the rational design of new lincosamides and for efforts to understand how this and related classes of agents selectively inhibit protein biosynthesis on the prokaryotic ribosome.