New strategies for accessing fungal secondary metabolites focused at the discovery of antimicrobials agents against resistance microorganism

• Grant number: 18/01620-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2018
• End date: May 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lourdes Campaner dos Santos
• Grantee: Felipe Hilário
• Supervisor: Robert Cichewicz
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Oklahoma (OU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/05480-9 - Study of chemical epigenetic modifiers in the cultivation of endophytic fungi associated with Paepalanthus chiquitensis (Eriocaulaceae) and evaluation of antimicrobial activity, BP.DR

Abstract

This project is associated to FAPESP doctorate fellowship process number 2016/05480-9, entitled: "Study of chemical epigenetic modifiers in the cultivation of endophytic fungi associated with Paepalanthus chiquitensis (Eriocaulaceae) and evaluation of antimicrobial activity". The work will be realized under supervisor of the Prof. Dr. Robert H. Cichewicz (Oklahoma, USA). He is professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Oklahoma (OU) and director of the Institute for Natural Products Applications and Research Technologies (INPART), being well recognized for his work with fungi aimed at the antimicrobials discovery. The time required to develop the research activities on the proposal is one year. The aim of this project is to explore the study of new approaches in the production of novel antimicrobials from isolated soil fungi. The fungi can produce a wide range of novel secondary metabolites, and different methodologies can be used to explore its production. Among the strategies of discovery, the combined of dereplication of natural products plus the use of chemical modifiers and metals are excellent tools to achieve guided antimicrobials.. The first step of the experimental work will be the dereplication bioactive hit from Prof. Cichewicz's fungal library. Following by small-scale culture, chemical profiles by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The large-scale cultivations will afford the desired metabolites from EtOAc extract, prepared after fungi cultured. Chromatography techniques will be used to fractionating and isolating of the metabolites. Their structural elucidation will be determined by spectrometry techniques. In conclusion, this work will lead gain of knowledge to explore novel metabolites using epigenetic approach and antimicrobials assays. (AU)