Chemical and biological study of the endophytic fungi Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Pestalotiopsis guepini and Chaetomium globosum.

Author(s)

Luciano da Silva Momesso

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2008-08-29

Examining board members

Monica Tallarico Pupo; Angela Regina Araujo; Fernando Batista da Costa; Rosemeire Cristina Linhari Rodrigues Pietro; Suraia Said

• Advisor: Monica Tallarico Pupo

Abstract

Three endophytic fungi isolated from Viguiera robusta (Asteraceae) were cultivated in three different culture media (Czapek, rice and malt extract) and also in mixed cultures in the malt extract medium. Diaion HP-20 resin was used for the malt extract cultures extraction increasing the yields of the extracts. Extracts and fractions have been submitted to chemical analyses by chromatographic techniques and 1H NMR, and also to several bioassays for the comparison of their chemical and biological profiles. Chemical study of the rice culture extract from Chaetomium globosum (VR-10) gave the citotoxic compound S1 (chaetoglobosin E), an important chemical biology tool. C. globosum also led to the isolation of compound S2 (dimethyl-terephthalate), previously isolated from an endophytic fungus and also from plants. Compound S3 (tyrosol) has been isolated from the Czapek culture extract of Pestalotiopsis guepini (VR-8). Tyrosol has been reported as a quorum sensing molecule in Candida albicans. Three compounds have been isolated from Cladosporium sphaerospermum (VR-2) rice cuture extract: marcfortine A (S4), marcfortine B (S5) and marcfortine C (S6). Marcfortines have been reported as potent antiparasitic compounds. A HPLC-DAD-MS/MS was developed for the rapid identification of marcfortine derivatives, which allowed the identification of compound S7 (marcfortine D) in the crude extract from C. sphaerospermum. The conformational analysis of marcfortine A (S4) was carried out by NOE-diff experiments and molecular modeling techniques. Bioassays results showed that the endophytic fungi should be considered as promising sources of novel and bioactive compounds. (AU)