Malettinin E, an antibacterial and antifungal tropolone produced by a marine Cladosporium strain

The isolation and structure elucidation of malettinins A–C (1–3) along with the new malettinin E (4) are described. The compounds were produced by the fungus Cladosporium sp. strain KF501, which was isolated from the German Wadden Sea. The malettinins are built up of tropolone/dihydropyran ring structures linked to a furan ring. The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was achieved by means of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy supported by mass and UV data. The relative configuration of 4 was determined on the basis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. 1–4 exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities when profiled against Xanthomonas campestris and Trichophyton rubrum. The influence of the chemical structure of the furan ring and of configurational changes on biological activities was observed

Calcarides A–E, Antibacterial Macrocyclic and Linear Polyesters from a Calcarisporium Strain

Bioactive compounds were detected in crude extracts of the fungus, Calcarisporium sp. KF525, which was isolated from German Wadden Sea water samples. Purification of the metabolites from the extracts yielded the five known polyesters, 15G256α, α-2, β, β-2 and π (1–5), and five new derivatives thereof, named calcarides A–E (6–10). The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy supported by UV and HRESIMS data. The compounds exhibited inhibitory activities against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Xanthomonas campestris and Propionibacterium acnes. As the antibacterial activities were highly specific with regard to compound and test strain, a tight structure-activity relationship is assumed

Establishing the Secondary Metabolite Profile of the Marine Fungus: Tolypocladium geodes sp. MF458 and Subsequent Optimisation of Bioactive Secondary Metabolite Production

As part of an international research project, the marine fungal strain collection of the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR) research centre was analysed for secondary metabolite profiles associated with anticancer activity. Strain MF458 was identified as Tolypocladium geodes, by internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) sequence similarity and its natural product production profile. By using five different media in two conditions and two time points, we were able to identify eight natural products produced by MF458. As well as cyclosporin A (1), efrapeptin D (2), pyridoxatin (3), terricolin A (4), malettinins B and E (5 and 6), and tolypocladenols A1/A2 (8), we identified a new secondary metabolite which we termed tolypocladenol C (7). All compounds were analysed for their anticancer potential using a selection of the NCI60 cancer cell line panel, with malettinins B and E (5 and 6) being the most promising candidates. In order to obtain sufficient quantities of these compounds to start preclinical development, their production was transferred from a static flask culture to a stirred tank reactor, and fermentation medium development resulted in a nearly eight-fold increase in compound production. The strain MF458 is therefore a producer of a number of interesting and new secondary metabolites and their production levels can be readily improved to achieve higher yield