24We have previously reported the inhibition of bacterial topoisomerase I activity by a 25 fluoroquinophenoxazine compound (FP-11g) with a 6-bipiperidinyl lipophilic side chain that 26 exhibited promising antituberculosis activity (MIC = 2.5 µM against Mycobacterium 27 tuberculosis, SI = 9.8). Here, we found that the compound is bactericidal towards 28Mycobacterium smegmatis, resulting in greater than 5 Log10 reduction in colony-forming units 29[cfu]/mL following a 10 h incubation at 1.25 µM (4X MIC) concentration. Growth inhibition 30 (MIC = 50 µM) and reduction in cfu could also be observed against a clinical isolate of 31 Mycobacterium abscessus. Stepwise isolation of resistant mutants of M. smegmatis was 32 conducted to explore the mechanism of resistance. Mutations in the resistant isolates were 33 identified by direct comparison of whole-genome sequencing data from mutant and wild-type 34 isolates. These include mutations in genes likely to affect the entry and retention of the 35 compound. FP-11g inhibits Mtb topoisomerase I and Mtb gyrase with IC50 of 0.24 and 31.5 µM, 36 respectively. Biophysical analysis showed that FP-11g binds DNA as an intercalator but the IC50 37 for inhibition of Mtb topoisomerase I activity is >10 fold lower than the compound 38 concentrations required for producing negatively supercoiled DNA during ligation of nicked 39 circular DNA. Thus, the DNA-binding property of FP-11g may contribute to its 40 antimycobacterial mechanism, but that alone cannot account for the observed inhibition of Mtb 41 topoisomerase I. 42 43 157 Enzyme assays 158