Aromatic Polyketides and Hydroxamate Siderophores from a Marine-Algae-Derived Streptomyces Species

New cyclic dipeptide discovered from deep-sea derived Aspergillus sp. HDN20-1401

A new alkaloid named aspergilalkaloid A (1) with pyridoindole hydroxymethyl piperazine dione structure along with six known compounds 2-7 were isolated from deep-sea derived fungus Aspergillus sp. HDN20-1401. The structure including absolute configuration was elucidated by extensive NMR analyses, HRESIMS, ECD calculation, and theoretical NMR calculation with DP4+ analysis. All isolated compounds were tested for antimicrobial and anticancer activity. Aspergilalkaloid A (1) showed inhibitive activity against Bacillus cereus with MIC value of 12.5 μM and weak activity against MRCNS.

Structurally Diverse Macrolactams from an Antarctic Streptomyces Species

Twelve new polyenic macrolactams, cyclamenols G-R (1 and 3-13), together with the known analogue cyclamenol A (2), were isolated from Streptomyces sp. OUCMDZ-4348. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, quantum chemical calculations, chemical derivatizations, and Mosher's methods. The sequenced genome of OUCMDZ-4348 revealed the putative biosynthetic gene cluster of cyclamenols. It was proposed that the polycyclic natural products, cyclamenols H-R, might be formed from cyclamenols A and G through nonenzymatic intramolecular cycloadditions and oxidative cyclizations.

Expanding the Chemical Diversity of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Two Marine-Derived Enterocin- and Wailupemycin-Producing Streptomyces Strains

To expand the chemical diversity of secondary metabolites produced by two marine-derived enterocin- and wailupemycin-producing Streptomyces strains, OUCMDZ-3434 and OUCMDZ-2599, precursor feeding and solid fermentation strategies were used. Two new compounds, wailupemycins Q (1) and R (2), were isolated from the extracts of liquid and solid fermentation of OUCMDZ-3434. Furthermore, during the fermentation of OUCMDZ-3434, p-fluorobenzoic acid was added as the key biosynthetic precursor, which resulted in the isolation of eight new fluorinated enterocin and wailupemycin derivatives (3-10) and 10 previously reported analogues (11-20). From the solid fermentation extract of OUCMDZ-2599, a new sulfur-containing compound thiotetromycin B (21) and its known analogue thiotetromycin (22) were identified. Moreover, the solid fermentation strategy effectively activated the biosynthesis of siderophores (23-25) of strain OUCMDZ-2599. Compound 3 showed moderate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus with MIC values of 4 μg/mL. Compounds 23-25 were significantly capable of binding Fe(III).

Marine natural products

Covering: January to December 2021This review covers the literature published in 2021 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 736 citations (724 for the period January to December 2021) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1425 in 416 papers for 2021), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Pertinent reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that led to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included. An analysis of the number of authors, their affiliations, domestic and international collection locations, focus of MNP studies, citation metrics and journal choices is discussed.

Physiological and Transcriptome Analyses Revealed the Mechanism by Which Deferoxamine Promotes Iron Absorption in Cinnamomum camphora

Iron deficiency causes chlorosis and growth inhibition in Cinnamomum camphora, an important landscaping tree species. Siderophores produced by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria have been widely reported to play an indispensable role in plant iron nutrition. However, little to date has been determined about how microbial siderophores promote plant iron absorption. In this study, multidisciplinary approaches, including physiological, biochemical and transcriptome methods, were used to investigate the role of deferoxamine (DFO) in regulating Fe availability in C. camphora seedlings. Our results showed that DFO supplementation significantly increased the Fe²⁺ content, SPAD value and ferric-chelate reductase (FCR) activity in plants, suggesting its beneficial effect under Fe deficiency. This DFO-driven amelioration of Fe deficiency was further supported by the improvement of photosynthesis. Intriguingly, DFO treatment activated the metabolic pathway of glutathione (GSH) synthesis, and exogenous spraying reduced glutathione and also alleviated chlorosis in C. camphora. In addition, the expression of some Fe acquisition and transport-related genes, including CcbHLH, CcFRO6, CcIRT2, CcNramp5, CcOPT3 and CcVIT4, was significantly upregulated by DFO treatment. Collectively, our data demonstrated an effective, economical and feasible organic iron-complexing agent for iron-deficient camphor trees and provided new insights into the mechanism by which siderophores promote iron absorption in plants.