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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #96390
Title: ANTIFUNGAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL METABOLITES FROM THE SCLEROTIUM-COLONIZING FUNGUS MORTIERELLA VINACEA

Author
item SOMAN, ASHISH - UNIV IA, IOWA CITY, IA
item GLOER, JAMES - UNIV IA, IOWA CITY, IA
item Wicklow, Donald

Submitted to: Journal of Natural Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/21/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: There is an urgent need for new sources of antifungal agents, and fungi that kill other fungi offer a potential source of novel antifungal agents useful to agriculture and medicine. The fungus Mortierella vinacea produced antifungal agents that strongly inhibited the growth of Fusarium verticillioides, a fungal pathogen of corn. Chemical studies revealed that some of these antifungal metabolites are new to science while others represent known compounds. Opportunistic fungal infections have become increasingly common in recent years and new classes of environmentally friendly agricultural fungicides are also needed. This information is useful to companies looking for sources of new antifungal compounds, as well as to scientists interested in microbial ecology.

Technical Abstract: The known compound methyl 2,4-dihydroxy-3,5,6,-trimethylbenzoate (1) and three new related metabolites which we have named mortivinacins A (2), B (3), and C (4) were isolated from the sclerotium-colonizing fungus Mortierella vinacea (NRRL 22986). Nicotinic acid (5) was also encountered. Compounds 1-5 were obtained by chromatographic fractionation of organic extracts from M. vinacea solid-substrate fermentation cultures, and the structures were assigned by analysis of NMR and MS data. Compounds 1, 2, and 5 were responsible for the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the extract. This information is useful to companies looking for sources of new antifungal compounds as well as to scientists interested in microbial ecology.