Six duocarmycins have been discovered during our search for newantitumor antibiotics and they showed extremely potent cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of l0"12 M~10~9Mon HeLaS3 cell. Three different producing strains isolated from soils were taxonomically assigned as Streptomyces. DuocarmycinA was unstable in culture broth, so improved culture conditions were designed to produce a high titer of duocarmycins Bl, B2, Cl and C2 which are halogenated seco-compounds of duocarmycin A. DuocarmycinSA, one of the most potent cytotoxic agents yet discovered, was shownto be more stable in culture media than duocarmycinA, despite the structural similarity on their spirocyclopropylhexadienone moiety. In contrast to the duocarmycinA fermentation, no halogenated seco-compounds of duocarmycin SA were detected in culture broth supplemented with Br~or Cl~. All duocarmycins could be produced using one producing strain with improved media and culture conditions. 1045 In the course of screening for new antitumor agents, we have isolated new potent antitumor antibiotics duocarmycins A (DC88-A)1}, Bl, B22), Cl (DC89-A1)3), C2 and SA (DC1 13)4) produced by Streptomyces. Ohba et al.5) have reported pyrindamycins A and B which are identical to duocarmycins C2 and Cl, respectively. The structures of duocarmycins were revealed by spectroscopic and chemical analysis6) (Fig. 1). Duocarmycins A and SAhave a spirocyclopropylhexadienone moiety which is known to be the DNA alkylating group of "left hand segment" of CC-10657~9). Recent studies have indicated that duocarmycin A can alkylate DNAin mechanisms similar to those of CC-106510'11*. The structural similarities suggest that duocarmycin SA also binds to DNAand alkylated DNAby a commonmechanism. Duocarmycins Bl, B2, Cl, C2 possess five or six-membered ring which were generated via attacking of bromide or chloride ion at the different carbon position on cyclopropane ring of duocarmycin A. Wehave succeeded in purification of duocarmycin A, however it seemed difficult to prepare duocarmycin A from culture broth in a large quantity because of its chemical instability: Duocarmycin A is unstable in aqueous solution and protic solvent, which will be published in a separate paper12). Therefore we studied improved conditions for large scale production and purification of the halogenated seco-compounds, duocarmycins Bl, B2, Cl , C2 which are more stable than duocarmycin A. On the other hand duocarmycin SAhas been shownto be more stable than duocarmycin A, so we investigated the improved production and purification of duocarmycin SA. Wereport here the taxonomic comparison of the three producing strains, increased production through manipulation of the culture conditions which could support production of all duocarmycins using any one of the producing strains.