Isolation, structure, and biological activity of Phaeofungin, a cyclic lipodepsipeptide from a Phaeosphaeria sp. Using the Genome-Wide Candida albicans Fitness Test.

Phaeofungin (1), a new cyclic depsipeptide isolated from Phaeosphaeria sp., was discovered by application of reverse genetics technology, using the Candida albicans fitness test (CaFT). Phaeofungin is comprised of seven amino acids and a β,γ-dihydroxy-γ-methylhexadecanoic acid arranged in a 25-membered cyclic depsipeptide.

Discovery of the parnafungins, antifungal metabolites that inhibit mRNA polyadenylation, from the Fusarium larvarum complex and other Hypocrealean fungi.

Evaluation of fungal fermentation extracts with whole cell Candida albicans activity resulted in the identification of a novel class of isoxazolidinone-containing metabolites named parnafungins. Chemical-genetic profiling with the C. albicans fitness test identified the biochemical target as inhibition of polyadenosine polymerase, a component of the mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation complex.

Distribution of the antifungal agents sordarins across filamentous fungi.

Sordarins are a class of natural antifungal agents which act by specifically inhibiting fungal protein synthesis through their interaction with the elongation factor 2, EF2. A number of natural sordarins produced by diverse fungi of different classes have been reported in the literature. We have run an exhaustive search of sordarin-producing fungi using two different approaches consecutively, the first one being a differential sensitivity screen using a sordarin-resistant mutant yeast strain run in parallel with a wild type strain, and the second one an empiric screen against Candida albicans followed by early detection of sordarins by LC-MS analysis.

Four illudane sesquiterpenes from Coprinopsis episcopalis.

Four new illudane derivatives with antibiotic and cytotoxic properties, illudins I (1), I(2) (2), J (3) and J(2) (4), have been isolated from the fungus Coprinopsis episcopalis (syn. Coprinus episcopalis). These sesquiterpenes are stereoisomers, and their relative structures have been determined taking into consideration 2D NMR data.

Novel illudins from Coprinopsis episcopalis (syn. Coprinus episcopalis), and the distribution of illudin-like compounds among filamentous fungi.

The illudins are a family of fungal sesquiterpenes that have been studied as anti-tumor agents, and they also have antibacterial activity. Over a four-year period, 25 304 fungal isolates (approximately 97% ascomycetes and 3% basidiomycetes), were screened for antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Illudin-like compounds with antibacterial and cytotoxic activity against tumor cell lines were observed in 10 basidiomycete strains.