Biological activities of ophiobolin K and 6-epi-ophiobolin K produced by the endophytic fungus Aspergillus calidoustus

Endophytic fungi represent ubiquitous microbial organisms able to live in the tissues of different plants around the world and represent a prolific source of bioactive metabolites. In the present study, the endophytic fungus Aspergillus calidoustus was isolated from the medicinal plant Acanthospermum australe (Asteraceae), and identified using molecular, physiological and morphological methods. A methylene chloride crude extract of A. calidoustus has been produced and subjected to antifungal bioassay-directed fractionation which resulted in the isolation of the two bioactive compounds: ophiobolin K and 6-epi-ophiobolin K. These pure compounds displayed antifungal activity against fungal plant pathogens, protozoal activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, and cytotoxic activity against human tumoral cell lines. The results show that A. calidoustus was able to produce the antifungal and cytotoxic metabolites ophiobolin K and 6-epi-ophiobolin K, which may help the fungus to colonise and occupy the substratum as well as survive in natural environments.     

南海红树林内生真菌No．ZZF71代谢产物研究

由于海洋环境的特殊性和微生物在生态系统的功能,海洋微生物已经发展出独特的代谢方式,提供了在陆地微生物中未遇到过的代谢产物。研究海洋微生物的活性物质,不但能发现结构新颖的化合物,丰富和发展有机化学理论,而且为寻找新的强效活性药物及其它有用物质提供了一个重要途径[1     

植物内生真菌生物碱活性成分的研究进展

大量的生物碱从植物内生真菌中分离了出来, 并表现出良好的生物活性. 对植物内生真菌所产生的生物碱, 按照酰胺类、有机胺类、吡咯类、喹啉和异喹啉类、吲哚类、吡啶类、喹唑啉类进行了综述, 并且介绍了这些生物碱的生物活性.     

Benzodiazepine Alkaloids from Marine‐Derived Endophytic Fungus Aspergillus ochraceus

A new fungus‐derived benzodiazepine analogue, 2‐hydroxycircumdatin C ( 1 ), and a compound which has been isolated from a natural resource for the first time, but has been previously synthesized, namely (11aS)‐2,3‐dihydro‐7‐methoxy‐1H‐pyrrolo[2,1‐c][1,4]benzodiazepine‐5,11(10H,11aH)‐dione ( 2 ), along with five structurally related known alkaloids ( 3 – 7 ), were isolated from Aspergillus ochraceus, an endophytic fungus derived from the marine brown alga Sargassum kjellmanianum. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic methods. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined through CD evidence. Compound 1 displayed significant DPPH radical‐scavenging activity with an IC₅₀ value of 9.9 μM , which is 8.9‐fold more potent than that of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a well‐known synthetic positive control.     

Formaldehyde‐Free Wood Adhesives from Decayed Wood

Summary: Extensive studies using mussel adhesive protein as a formaldehyde‐free, strong, and water‐resistant adhesive model revealed that a combination of a polymer with catechol moieties and a polymer with amino groups could serve as a strong and water‐resistant wood adhesive. This study demonstrated that the treatment of abundant and readily available brown‐rot‐fungus‐decayed wood with NaBH₄ followed by mixing with polyethylenimine resulted in a formaldehyde‐free, strong, and water‐resistant wood adhesive.

Lignin is demethylated by brown‐rot fungi and then reduced using NaBH₄.     

Identification of an Asexual Reproduction Inducer of Phytopathogenic and Toxigenic Fusarium

Asexual and sexual reproduction are the most important biological events in the life cycle of phytopathogenic and toxigenic Fusarium and are responsible for disease epidemics. However, the signaling molecules which induce the asexual reproduction of Fusarium are unknown. Herein we describe the structure elucidation, including the absolute configuration, of Fusarium asexual reproduction inducer (FARI), a new sesquiterpene derivative, by spectroscopic analysis, total synthesis, and conidium‐inducing assays of synthetic isomers. We have also uncovered the universality of FARI among Fusarium species. Moreover, a mechanism‐of‐action study suggested that the Gpmk1 and LaeA signaling pathways are required for conidium formation induced by FARI; conversely, the Mgv1 of mitogen‐activated protein kinase is not involved in conidium formation. FARI exhibited conidium‐inducing activity at an extremely low dose and high stereoselectivity, which may suggest the presence of a stereospecific target.     

Discovery of a new biphenyl derivative by epigenetic manipulation of marine-derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor

Cultivation of the marine-derived Aspergillus versicolor MCCC 3A00080 with the addition of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), significantly enhanced the diversity of secondary metabolites. From the culture treated, a new biphenyl derivative, named versiperol A (1), along with two known compounds, 2,4-dimethoxyphenol (2) and diorcinol (3) were isolated. The structures of 1–3 were established based on spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. Among the isolates, versiperol A (1) exhibited modest inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus growth with MIC value of 8 μg/mL.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activities of Diphenyl(Arylamino)(1-Phenyl-3-(Pyridin-2-Yl)-1H-Pyrazol-4-Yl)Methylphosphonates

Abstract

A series of novel diphenyl(arylamino)(1-phenyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methylphosphonates have been synthesized in high yields. They were screened for their antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli (NCIM2065) as a Gram-negative bacterium, Bacillus subtilis (PC1219) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC25292) as Gram-positive bacteria, and Schccaromycies cerevisiae as a fungus. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the synthetic compounds showed moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities at low concentrations (10–1000 μg/mL).

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.     

Raman spectroscopy as a tool to the in situ study of three lichens species from Antarctica and Brazil

In this investigation the chemistry of the lichens Gondwania regalis, Teloschistes exilis and Xanthoria candelaria (Teloschistaceae) have been recorded by means of Raman spectroscopy. The non‐destructive analysis provided the recognition of parietin and conjugated polyenes, probably belonging to the carotenoid family for all the investigated specimens. Bands at ca. 1370 and 1600 cm⁻¹, respectively, assigned to the ν(C―O) and ν(CO) modes of the phenyl group of the anthraquinone compound, as well the bands at ca. 1005, 1158 and 1527 cm⁻¹, possibly assigned to the β‐carotene in the FT‐Raman spectra, have provided valuable spectroscopy data for the identification of the biomarkers for these lichen pigments. Thus, this is the first report of parietin and carotenoid in T. exilis and X. candelaria tissues even as the parietin anthraquinone for G. regalis tissues, which are effective pigments against free radicals from UV radiation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pleosporin A,an antimalarial cyclodepsipeptide from an elephant dung fungus (BCC 7069)

Cyclodepsipeptides SCH 217048 (1), SCH 218157 (2), and a new analog, pleosporin A (3), were isolated from cultures of an unidentified elephant dung fungus of the family Pleosporaceae. The structure of 3 was elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic interpretation. The absolute configurations of 1–3 were determined by chiral column HPLC analysis and Marfey’s method. Cyclodepsipeptides 1–3 exhibited antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum K1 with respective IC₅₀ values of 1.6, 6.4, and 1.6 μg/mL, while they did not show cytotoxicity against KB, MCF-7 and NCI-H187 cell-lines or non-cancerous Vero cells at 50 μg/mL.