-
Marine Drugs Sep 2019Fungal marine microorganisms are a valuable source of bioactive natural products. Fungal secondary metabolites mainly comprise alkaloids, terpenoids, peptides,... (Review)
Review
Fungal marine microorganisms are a valuable source of bioactive natural products. Fungal secondary metabolites mainly comprise alkaloids, terpenoids, peptides, polyketides, steroids, and lactones. Proteins and peptides from marine fungi show minimal human toxicity and less adverse effects comparable to synthetic drugs. This review summarizes the chemistry and the biological activities of peptides that were isolated and structurally elucidated from marine fungi. Relevant fungal genera including , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , as well as were extensively reviewed. About 131 peptides were reported from these 17 genera and their structures were unambiguously determined using 1D and 2D NMR (one and two dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance) techniques in addition to HRMS (high resolution mass spectrometry). Marfey and Mosher reactions were used to confirm the identity of these compounds. About 53% of the isolated peptides exhibited cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and antiviral activity, meanwhile, few of them showed antidiabetic, lipid lowering, and anti-inflammatory activity. However 47% of the isolated peptides showed no activity with respect to the examined biological activity and thus required further in depth biological assessment. In conclusion, when searching for bioactive natural products, it is worth exploring more peptides of fungal origin and assessing their biological activities.
Topics: Anti-Infective Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Antiviral Agents; Aquatic Organisms; Biological Products; Fungi; Hypoglycemic Agents; Hypolipidemic Agents; Peptides
PubMed: 31569458
DOI: 10.3390/md17100559 -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2022Onychomycosis is a fungal disease of the nail that is found worldwide and is difficult to diagnose accurately. This study used metagenomics to investigate the...
Onychomycosis is a fungal disease of the nail that is found worldwide and is difficult to diagnose accurately. This study used metagenomics to investigate the microbiology of 18 clinically diagnosed mycotic nails and two normal nails for fungi and bacteria using the ITS2 and 16S loci. Four mycotic nails were from Bass Coast, six from Melbourne Metropolitan and eight from Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. The mycotic nails were photographed and metagenomically analysed. The ITS2 sequences for and averaged over 90% of hits in 14/18 nails. The high abundance of sequences of a single dermatophyte, compared to all other fungi in a single nail, made it the most likely infecting agents (MLIA). and interdigitale/mentagrophytes were found in Bass Coast and Shepparton while only was found in Melbourne. Two nails with mixed with high abundance non-dermatophyte moulds (NDMs) (, ) were also observed. The two control nails contained chiefly and . For bacteria, was in every nail and was the most abundant, including the control nails, with an overall mean rate of 66.01%. , , and also featured.
PubMed: 36422019
DOI: 10.3390/jof8111198 -
Plant Disease Nov 2022Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a tropical fruit with great economic value. Guangdong is one of the most important guava production areas. In November 2019, guava wilt...
Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a tropical fruit with great economic value. Guangdong is one of the most important guava production areas. In November 2019, guava wilt disease (GWD) was observed in a 10.6 HA commercial orchard in NanSha district, Guangzhou, Guangdong (22°37'37.626" N, 113°35'56.089" E). Disease incidence was up to 35%. Initially, leaves on the top of some branches became purple or yellow interveinal chlorosis, later dry. Infection severely became systemic developing vascular discoloration of stem, black root rot, eventually entire trees wilted and died. The root tissues were cut into 5-mm2 pieces and surface disinfected with 70% ethanol for 30 sec, 3 % sodium hypochlorite for 4 min, rinsed by the sterile water, then plated onto potato dextrose agar and incubated for 5 days at 25°C. A total of 8 monoconidial isolates with identical colony morphology were obtained. All formed cottony, whitish to pale yellow colonies. Conidiophores were dimorphic, penicillate and acremonium-like. Penicillate conidiophores gave rise to ovoidal, one-celled conidia (4.15 to 6.55×2.28 to 4.61 μm) (n=100) with truncated ends. Cylindrical or fusiform conidia (7.02 to 15.57×2.01 to 5.30 μm) (n=100) arose in long chains on acremonium-like conidiophores. Morphological characteristics of the isolates were consistent with those of Nalanthamala psidii (syn. Myxosporium psidii) reported by Schroers (2005). The rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial nuclear large-subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU) of two representative isolates (GDNS02 and GDNS08) were amplified using the primers pairs ITS4/ITS5 (White et al. 1990) and V9G/LR5 (de Hoog and Gerrits van den. 1998), respectively. The obtained sequences were deposited in GenBank under the accession nos. OM278372 to 73 (ITS) and OM278377 to 78 (LSU). BLASTn analysis showed 99.81% and 100% identities with the reported sequences of N. psidii CBS 116952 (AY864836) and CBS 110507 (AY554243). Maximum likelihood analyses of combined ITS and LSU sequences indicated that these two isolates being clustered with N. psidii strains. Pathogenicity tests were performed twice using healthy seedlings (60-70 cm height, cv. pearl). Each stem of five seedlings was wounded using a 5-mm sterile cork borer, and 5-day-old mycelium plugs of isolate GDNS08 were inoculated into the holes (25-cm above the soil line) and covered with Parafilm, sterile PDA plugs were placed into the wounds of additional 5 control seedlings. All plants were kept in a greenhouse (25℃, 80% relative humidity, 16/8-h day/night). After 3 months, all inoculated plants developed purple leaf, defoliation and wilt symptoms resembling those observed in the orchards, while the controls remained asymptomatic. Nalanthamala psidii was reisolated from the roots tissue of the inoculated plants, identity was confirmed by morphological characteristics and ITS sequence analyses as described above, but not from the controls, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Nalanthamala psidii has been previously reported as the causal agent of guava wilt in Taiwan, Philippines, South Africa and Bangladesh (Hsieh et al. 1976; Opina 1995; Schoeman et al. 1997; Alam et al. 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. psidii causing guava wilt in Guangdong, China. The outbreak of GWD in South Africa in the 1980s resulted in devastating losses to guava industry (Schoeman et al. 1997). Further research is needed to develop the integrated management to constrain this disease from spreading.
PubMed: 36320135
DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-05-22-1166-PDN -
Journal of Fungi (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2022Three new species of are introduced based on specimens collected from China. sp. nov. is distinguished by pale yellow to pale orange-yellow perithecia with a very low...
Three new species of are introduced based on specimens collected from China. sp. nov. is distinguished by pale yellow to pale orange-yellow perithecia with a very low papilla, clavate to subcylindrical asci possessing ellipsoidal to elongate-ellipsoidal spinulose ascospores 13-16 × 4.5-5.5 μm; it has acremonium- to verticillium-like conidiophores and ellipsoidal to rod-shaped conidia. sp. nov. has pinkish-white subglobose to globose perithecia on a well-developed stroma and with a thin perithecial wall, clavate to subcylindrical asci with ellipsoidal to elongate-ellipsoidal spinulose ascospores 7.5-11 × 2.5-3.5 μm; it produces verticillium-like conidiophores and ellipsoidal to subellipsoidal conidia. sp. nov. features solitary to gregarious perithecia with a papilla, clavate asci containing 6-8 smooth-walled ascospores 9-17 × 3-5.5 μm; it forms verticillium-like conidiophores and sparse, subfusiform conidia. The morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of combined nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and beta-tubulin sequences support their placement in and their classification as new to science. Distinctions between the novel taxa and their close relatives are compared herein.
PubMed: 36294592
DOI: 10.3390/jof8101027 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2023Natural weed cover and a legume cover crop were examined to determine if they could impact soil fungal diversity as an indicator of soil quality in banana production.
INTRODUCTION
Natural weed cover and a legume cover crop were examined to determine if they could impact soil fungal diversity as an indicator of soil quality in banana production.
METHODS
Banana in Yunnan Province, China, was grown under three treatments: conventional tillage (bare soil), natural weed cover (primarily goosegrass ( (L.) Gaerth)), or a cover crop (Siratro ( (DC.) Urb.)). Analysis of the soil fungal communities between 2017 and 2020 was done by Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing.
RESULTS
Most significant effects were in the intercropping area for the treatments, whereas it was rarely observed in the furrow planted with banana. Based on the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, soil fungal diversity in the intercropping area significantly decreased following planting banana in 2017 with all three treatments. However, both the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices showed that there were significant increases in fungal soil diversity in 2019 and 2020 with natural weed cover or Siratro compared to bare soil. At the end of the experiment, significant increases in fungal genera with Siratro compared to bare soil were observed with , , , and , and significant decreases were observed with , , , and . Siratro resulted in higher stability of the soil fungal microbiome by increasing the modularity and the proportion of negative co-occurrences compared to bare soil. For fungal guilds, Siratro significantly increased saprotrophs_symbiotrophs in 2019 and 2020 and significantly decreased pathogens_saprotrophs in 2020 compared to bare soil.
DISCUSSION
Using Siratro as a cover crop in the intercropping area of banana helped maintain soil fungal diversity, which would be beneficial for soil health with more symbiotrophs and less pathogens in the soil. However, further research is needed to determine the long-term impact of weed or Siratro cover crop on the fungal soil ecosystem and growth of banana.
PubMed: 37032861
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1138580 -
Marine Drugs Dec 2023Four new compounds, including two ascochlorin-type meroterpenoids acremocholrins A () and B (), one pyridone alkaloid acremopyridone A (), and one cyclopentenone...
Four new compounds, including two ascochlorin-type meroterpenoids acremocholrins A () and B (), one pyridone alkaloid acremopyridone A (), and one cyclopentenone derivative acremoketene A (), together with eight known compounds (- and -), were isolated and identified from the hadal trench-derived fungus YP-213. Their structures were determined with a detailed spectroscopic analysis of NMR and MS data, NOE analysis, octant rule and quantum chemical calculations of ECD, and NMR (with DP4+ probability analysis). Among the compounds, represent a novel scaffold derived from a pyridone alkaloid by cleavage of the C-16-C-17 bond following oxidation to give a ketone. Compounds , , and showed potent in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in transgenic zebrafish, while compound exhibited significant proangiogenic activity in transgenic zebrafish.
Topics: Animals; Zebrafish; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Fungi; Pyridones; Alkaloids; Acremonium
PubMed: 38248650
DOI: 10.3390/md22010025 -
The Journal of General and Applied... Jun 2022Ascofuranone and its precursor, ilicicolin A, are secondary metabolites with various pharmacological activities that are produced by Acremonium egyptiacum. In...
Ascofuranone and its precursor, ilicicolin A, are secondary metabolites with various pharmacological activities that are produced by Acremonium egyptiacum. In particular, ascofuranone strongly inhibits trypanosome alternative oxidase and represents a potential drug candidate against African trypanosomiasis. However, difficulties associated with industrial production of ascofuranone by A. egyptiacum, specifically the co-production of ascochlorin, which inhibits mammalian respiratory chain complex III at low concentrations, has precluded its widespread application. Therefore, in this study, ascofuranone biosynthetic genes (ascA-E and H-J) were heterologously expressed in Aspergillus sojae, which produced very low-levels of endogenous secondary metabolites under conventional culture conditions. As a result, although we obtained transformants producing both ilicicolin A and ascofuranone, they were produced only when an adequate concentration of chloride ions was added to the medium. In addition, we succeeded in increasing the production of ilicicolin A, by enhancing the expression of the rate-determining enzyme AscD, using a multi-copy integration system. The heterologous expression approach described here afforded the production of both ascofuranone and ilicicolin A, allowing for their development as therapeutics.
Topics: Animals; Aspergillus; Mammals; Sesquiterpenes
PubMed: 35418536
DOI: 10.2323/jgam.2021.08.001 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Meat and bone meal (MBM), as slaughterhouse waste, is a potential biostimulating agent, but its efficiency and reliability in composting are largely unknown. To access...
Meat and bone meal (MBM), as slaughterhouse waste, is a potential biostimulating agent, but its efficiency and reliability in composting are largely unknown. To access the MBM application to the composting process of asparagus straw rice, we followed the composting process for 60 days in 220-L composters and another 180 days in 20-L buckets in treatments applied with MBM or urea. The microbial succession was investigated by high-throughput sequencing. Compared with urea treatments, MBM addition stabilized pH and extended the thermophilic phase for 7 days. The germination index of MBM treatments was 24.76% higher than that of urea treatments. MBM also promoted higher microbial diversity and shifted community compositions. Organic matter and pH were the most significant factors that influence the bacterial and fungal community structure. At the genus level, MBM enriched relative abundances of organic matter-degrading bacteria () and lignocellulose-degrading fungi (), as well as lignocellulolytic enzyme activities. Notably, MBM addition decreased sum abundances of plant pathogenic fungi of , and from 17.27 to 0.11%. This study demonstrated the potential of MBM as an effective additive in asparagus straw composting, thus providing insights into the development of new industrial aerobic fermentation.
PubMed: 36204619
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.953783 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a powerful microorganism identification tool. Research on...
Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a powerful microorganism identification tool. Research on MALDI-TOF MS identification of rare filamentous fungi is still lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of MALDI-TOF MS in the identification of , -like, , and species. Sabouraud broth cultivation and formic acid/acetonitrile protein extraction were used for MALDI-TOF MS identification by a Bruker Biotyper system. An in-house database containing 29 isolates of , -like, , and spp. was constructed. A total of 52 clinical isolates were identified using the Bruker Filamentous Fungi Library v1.0 (FFL v1.0) alone, and Filamentous Fungi Library v1.0 plus the in-house library, respectively. The mass spectrum profile (MSP) dendrograms of the 28 isolates, 26 -like isolates, and 27 and isolates were constructed by MALDI Biotyper OC 4.0 software, respectively. The correct species identification rate significantly improved when using the combined databases compared with that when using FFL v1.0 alone ( spp., 75% versus 0%; -like spp., 100% versus 0%; and spp., 100% versus 62.5%). The MSP dendrograms differentiated -like species, and species clearly, but cannot distinguish species in the complex. In conclusion, with an expanded database, MALDI-TOF MS is an effective tool for the identification of , -like, , and species.
PubMed: 35308359
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.841286 -
Marine Drugs Sep 2021Cyclopeptides usually play a pivotal role, either in the viability or virulence of fungi. Two types of cyclopeptides, six new hydroxamate siderophore cyclohexapeptides...
Cyclopeptides usually play a pivotal role, either in the viability or virulence of fungi. Two types of cyclopeptides, six new hydroxamate siderophore cyclohexapeptides (-), including acremonpeptides E and F, and their complexes with aluminum and ferric ions; one new cyclic pentapeptolide, aselacin D (); together with a known compound, aselacin C (), were isolated and characterized from the sponge-derived fungus F10. In addition, two new siderophore analogues chelating gallium ions (Ga), Ga (III)-acremonpeptide E () and Ga (III)-acremonpeptide F (), using isolated acremonpeptides E and F, were prepared. The planar structures of - were elucidated by HRESIMS and (1D and 2D) NMR. The absolute configurations of amino acids were determined by means of the advanced Marfey's method and X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer was performed to disclose the elements of compound , indicating the existence of aluminum (Al). Al (III)-acremonpeptides E (), Ga (III)-acremonpeptides E (), Al (III)-acremonpeptide F (), and Ga (III)-acremonpeptide F () displayed high in vitro anti-fungal activities, which are comparable to amphotericin B, against and
Topics: Acremonium; Animals; Antifungal Agents; Aquatic Organisms; Aspergillus; Crystallography, X-Ray; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; Peptides, Cyclic; Porifera; Structure-Activity Relationship
PubMed: 34677436
DOI: 10.3390/md19100537