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Secondary Metabolites from Plant- or Animal-Associated Endophytic Fungus

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 6959

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yi Sun

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Guest Editor

Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: natural medicinal chemishtry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Secondary metabolites from microorganisms have long been an important source of new drug discoveries. Endophytes are a relatively unique group that exists in the evolution of terrestrial and marine plants or animals. These microbial endophytes live with their hosts permanently and adapt to the unique environments of plants or animals. Each microbe not only has the potential to produce undiscovered bioactive compounds, but plays a key role in protecting the sustainable development of the host.

In recent years, the demand for natural medicines has increased with the emergence of drug-resistant pathogenic microorganisms and new diseases, as well as the toxic side effects of synthetic drugs. Thus, endophyte secondary metabolites provide a useful resource for microbial drug discovery.

In view of the medicinal potential of endophytes, the principal goals of this Special Issue focus on all aspects of chemical and biochemical research, including the isolation and structural elucidation of novel bioactive secondary metabolites from plant- and animal-associated endophytes, biosynthesis and microbiological transformations, and other related research.

Prof. Dr. Yi Sun
Guest Editor

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Keywords

secondary metabolites
endophytes
fungi
biological activity
isolation and identification
biosynthesis related research

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 1947 KiB

Open AccessArticle

New Dipyrroloquinones from a Plant-Derived Endophytic Fungus Talaromyces sp.

by Dandan Zhang, Xiaoqing Wang, Bo Liu, Shuhui Li, Yanlei Wang, Tao Guo and Yi Sun

Molecules 2023, 28(23), 7847; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28237847 - 29 Nov 2023

Viewed by 692

Abstract

Two new dipyrroloquinones, namely talaroterreusinones A (1) and B (2), together with four known secondary metabolites, terreusinone A (3), penicillixanthone A (4), isorhodoptilometrin (5), and chrysomutanin (6), were isolated from the solid culture of the endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. by integrating mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling and a bioassay-guided method. Their planar structures and stereochemistry were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis including NMR and MS. The absolute configuration at C-1″ of terreusinone A (1) was established by applying the modified Mosher’s method. Compounds 1–6 were evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity. As a result, 1–3 inhibited the LPS-stimulated NO production in macrophage RAW264.7 cells, with IC₅₀ values of 20.3, 30.7, and 20.6 µM, respectively. Penicillixanthone A (4) exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against Hep G2 and A549 cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 117 nM and 212 nM, respectively, and displayed significant antitumour effects in A549 cells by inhibiting the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signalling pathway. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Metabolites from Plant- or Animal-Associated Endophytic Fungus)

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18 pages, 6080 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cholinesterase Inhibitors from an Endophytic Fungus Aspergillus niveus Fv-er401: Metabolomics, Isolation and Molecular Docking

by Ahmed A. Hamed, Riham A. El-Shiekh, Osama G. Mohamed, Elsayed A. Aboutabl, Fify I. Fathy, Ghada A. Fawzy, Areej M. Al-Taweel, Tarek R. Elsayed, Ashootosh Tripathi and Ahmed A. Al-Karmalawy

Molecules 2023, 28(6), 2559; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28062559 - 11 Mar 2023

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2574

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease poses a global health concern with unmet demand requiring creative approaches to discover new medications. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition and the anticholinesterase activity of Aspergillus niveus Fv-er401 isolated from Foeniculum vulgare (Apiaceae) roots. Fifty-eight metabolites were identified using UHPLC-MS/MS analysis of the crude extract. The fungal extract showed acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory effects with IC₅₀ 53.44 ± 1.57 and 48.46 ± 0.41 µg/mL, respectively. Two known metabolites were isolated, terrequinone A and citrinin, showing moderate AChE and BuChE inhibitory activity using the Ellman’s method (IC₅₀ = 11.10 ± 0.38 µg/mL and 5.06 ± 0.15 µg/mL, respectively for AChE, and IC₅₀ 15.63 ± 1.27 µg/mL and 8.02 ± 0.08 µg/mL, respectively for BuChE). As evidenced by molecular docking, the isolated compounds and other structurally related metabolites identified by molecular networking had the required structural features for AChE and BuChE inhibition. Where varioxiranol G (−9.76 and −10.36 kcal/mol), penicitrinol B (−9.50 and −8.02 kcal/mol), dicitrinol A (−8.53 and −7.98 kcal/mol) and asterriquinone CT5 (−8.02 and −8.25 kcal/mol) showed better binding scores as AChE and BuChE inhibitors than the co-crystallized inhibitor (between −7.89 and 7.82 kcal/mol) making them promising candidates for the development of new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Metabolites from Plant- or Animal-Associated Endophytic Fungus)

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18 pages, 4782 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Antibacterial Spirotetronate Polyketides from an Actinomadura sp. Strain A30804

by Kuan-Chieh Ching, Elaine J. Chin, Mario Wibowo, Zann Y. Tan, Lay-Kien Yang, Deborah C. Seow, Chung-Yan Leong, Veronica W. Ng, Siew-Bee Ng and Yoganathan Kanagasundaram

Molecules 2022, 27(23), 8196; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238196 - 24 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1469

Abstract

Large scale cultivation and chemical investigation of an extract obtained from Actimonadura sp. resulted in the identification of six previously undescribed spirotetronates (pyrrolosporin B and decatromicins C–G; 7–12), along with six known congeners, namely decatromicins A–B (1–2), BE-45722B–D (3–5), and pyrrolosporin A (6). The chemical structures of compounds 1–12 were characterized via comparison with previously reported data and analysis of 1D/2D NMR and MS data. The structures of all new compounds were highly related to the spirotetronate type compounds, decatromicin and pyrrolosporin, with variations in the substituents on the pyrrole and aglycone moieties. All compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activity against the Gram-negative bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii and Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and were investigated for their cytotoxicity against the human cancer cell line A549. Of these, decatromicin B (2), BE-45722B (3), and pyrrolosporin B (7) exhibited potent antibacterial activities against both Gram-positive (MIC₉₀ between 1–3 μM) and Gram-negative bacteria (MIC₉₀ values ranging from 12–36 μM) with weak or no cytotoxic activity against A549 cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Metabolites from Plant- or Animal-Associated Endophytic Fungus)

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Review

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31 pages, 7820 KiB

Open AccessReview

Anti-Alzheimer’s Natural Products Derived from Plant Endophytic Fungi

by Juntai Zhu, Zimo Wang, Lixia Song, Wanxin Fu and Li Liu

Molecules 2023, 28(5), 2259; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28052259 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1693

Abstract

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia worldwide and seriously affects patients’ daily tasks. Plant endophytic fungi are known for providing novel and unique secondary metabolites with diverse activities. This review focuses primarily on the published research regarding anti-Alzheimer’s natural products derived from endophytic fungi between 2002 and 2022. Following a thorough review of the literature, 468 compounds with anti-Alzheimer’s-related activities are reviewed and classified based on their structural skeletons, primarily including alkaloids, peptides, polyketides, terpenoids, and sterides. The classification, occurrences, and bioactivities of these natural products from endophytic fungi are summarized in detail. Our results provide a reference on endophytic fungi natural products that may assist in the development of new anti-Alzheimer’s compounds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Metabolites from Plant- or Animal-Associated Endophytic Fungus)

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