Effect of rifamycin derivatives and coumermycin A1 on in vitro RNA synthesis by African swine fever virus. Brief report.

Several rifamycin derivatives inhibited the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase of African swine fever (ASF) virus particles. The inhibition was similar to that found with vaccinia virus RNA polymerase. Coumermycin A1, an inhibitor of type II DNA topoisomerases, inhibited strongly RNA synthesis in vitro by ASF virus particles. This suggests that transcription of ASF virus DNA requires a DNA topoisomerase.