Centanamycin alkylates the A-T-rich minor groove of the DNA and thereby blocks DNA replication. Centanamycin potently inhibits replication of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), mouse CMV (MCMV), and herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) in vitro. Centanamycin-attenuated whole virion MCMV elicits a robust serum neutralizing antibody response and protects the mice from live-virus challenge. [[413577-16-9]]