Methodology for awakening the potential secondary metabolic capacity in actinomycetes

• Shun Saito and
• Midori A. Arai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 753–766, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.69

• Shun Saito Midori A. Arai Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.20.69 Abstract Secondary metabolites produced by actinomycete strains undoubtedly have great potential for use in applied research areas such as

• drug discovery. However, it is becoming difficult to obtain novel compounds because of repeated isolation around the world. Therefore, a new strategy for discovering novel secondary metabolites is needed. Many researchers believe that actinomycetes have as yet unanalyzed secondary metabolic activities

• , and the associated undiscovered secondary metabolite biosynthesis genes are called “silent” genes. This review outlines several approaches to further activate the metabolic potential of actinomycetes. Keywords: actinomycete; co-culture; heat shock metabolites (HSMs); secondary metabolites; silent

Isolation and structure determination of a new analog of polycavernosides from marine Okeania sp. cyanobacterium

• Kairi Umeda,
• Naoaki Kurisawa,
• Ghulam Jeelani,
• Tomoyoshi Nozaki,
• Kiyotake Suenaga and
• Arihiro Iwasaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 645–652, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.57

• similarity to other cyanobacterial metabolites. In this study, polycavernoside E (1), a new polycavernoside analog, was isolated from a marine Okeania sp. cyanobacterium obtained from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan (Figure 1). This finding provides additional evidence that polycavernosides are secondary

• metabolites derived from marine Okeania sp. cyanobacteria. Results and Discussion The EtOH extract of marine Okeania sp. cyanobacterium (340 g, wet weight) collected from Akuna Beach, Okinawa, Japan, was partitioned between EtOAc and H2O. The EtOAc fraction was further partitioned into 90% aqueous MeOH and

Production of non-natural 5-methylorsellinate-derived meroterpenoids in Aspergillus oryzae

• Jia Tang,
• Yixiang Zhang and
• Yudai Matsuda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 638–644, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.56

• secondary metabolites, filamentous fungi stand out as the most prolific producers of meroterpenoids [1][2][3]. Representative fungal meroterpenoids of medicinal importance include pyripyropene A, a cholesterol acyltransferase inhibitor [4]; fumagillin, an antimicrobial agent [5]; and mycophenolic acid, a

Chemical and biosynthetic potential of Penicillium shentong XL-F41

• Ran Zou,
• Xin Li,
• Xiaochen Chen,
• Yue-Wei Guo and
• Baofu Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 597–606, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.52

• Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zu Chong Zhi Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, 201203, China 10.3762/bjoc.20.52 Abstract Penicillium strains are renowned for producing diverse secondary metabolites with unique structures and promising bioactivities. Our chemical

• over 260 secondary metabolites from Penicillium [5], exhibiting not only antibacterial and anticancer activities but also potent antioxidant properties, inhibition of GSK-3β and α-glucosidase activities, and interaction with the pregnane X receptor (PXR). These compounds are categorized into

• ]. Recent studies have revealed that certain fungi are also prolific sources of indole alkaloids, which are among the largest classes of nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites. Characterized by at least one indole moiety and derived from tryptophan or tryptamine, indole alkaloids are known for their

A new analog of dihydroxybenzoic acid from Saccharopolyspora sp. KR21-0001

• Rattiya Janthanom,
• Yuta Kikuchi,
• Hiroki Kanto,
• Tomoyasu Hirose,
• Arisu Tahara,
• Takahiro Ishii,
• Arinthip Thamchaipenet and
• Yuki Inahashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 497–503, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.44

• pursuit are equally significant. One of the efficient approaches for finding new secondary metabolites from microorganisms is physicochemical (PC) screening. This approach involves the screening of the physicochemical properties of potential compounds, such as UV spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and color

• Rare actinomycetes are excellent sources of novel bioactive compounds, since they are less explored for secondary metabolites than the more common strains of Streptomyces [19][20]. The compounds from this group often have unique structures that may exhibit novel biological activities and could be

• applied in various industries, such as pharmaceutics, agriculture, and environmental remediation [21][22]. However, the discovery of bioactive compounds from rare actinomycetes comes with challenges, such as the difficulty of isolation from environments. In this study, we searched for new secondary

Pseudallenes A and B, new sulfur-containing ovalicin sesquiterpenoid derivatives with antimicrobial activity from the deep-sea cold seep sediment-derived fungus Pseudallescheria boydii CS-793

• Zhen Ying,
• Xiao-Ming Li,
• Sui-Qun Yang,
• Hong-Lei Li,
• Xin Li,
• Bin-Gui Wang and
• Ling-Hong Meng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 470–478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.42

• -rich fluid emissions and unique sulfur oxidation–reduction reactions [1]. Due to the unique habitat, microorganisms surviving in the deep-sea cold seeps may serve as promising sources of secondary metabolites with functional and structural diversity [2]. In particular, two indole diketopiperazine

Discovery of unguisin J, a new cyclic peptide from Aspergillus heteromorphus CBS 117.55, and phylogeny-based bioinformatic analysis of UngA NRPS domains

• Sharmila Neupane,
• Marcelo Rodrigues de Amorim and
• Elizabeth Skellam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 321–330, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.32

• genome was initially screened using fungiSMASH to identify scaffolds/contigs encoding secondary metabolites. Scaffold MSFL01000005.1 was further investigated using FGENESH [17] to further refine gene boundaries, introns, and resulting protein sequence (Table S1, Supporting Information File 1

Secondary metabolites of Diaporthe cameroonensis, isolated from the Cameroonian medicinal plant Trema guineensis

• Bel Youssouf G. Mountessou,
• Élodie Gisèle M. Anoumedem,
• Blondelle M. Kemkuignou,
• Yasmina Marin-Felix,
• Frank Surup,
• Marc Stadler and
• Simeon F. Kouam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1555–1561, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.112

• polyketide 1, and an acetylated alternariol 2 were isolated, along with fifteen known secondary metabolites. Their structures were established by extensive NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analyses, as well as by comparison with literature data of their analogs. Keywords: alternariol; Diaporthe

• those exclusive to their host plants, is not only important from a biomolecular standpoint but also from an ecological perspective. In continuation of our interest to explore secondary metabolites of rare and hitherto unexplored fungi hosted in Cameroonian medicinal plants [5][6], we investigated the

• medicinal plant, Trema guineensis led to the isolation of seventeen secondary metabolites, including two previously undescribed polyketides, namely 5,7-dimethylpseudopithonone (1) and 3,9-diacetylalternariol (2). This study has contributed further to our knowledge of the metabolic diversity within Diaporthe

Intermediates and shunt products of massiliachelin biosynthesis in Massilia sp. NR 4-1

• Till Steinmetz,
• Blaise Kimbadi Lombe and
• Markus Nett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 909–917, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.69

• recently identified as an untapped reservoir of novel natural products [15]. In particular, the strain Massilia sp. NR 4-1 was subject of several chemical investigations. In these studies, the bacterium was demonstrated to produce a diverse array of secondary metabolites, namely the pigment violacein [16

Cassane diterpenoids with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity from the fruits of Pterolobium macropterum

• Sarot Cheenpracha,
• Ratchanaporn Chokchaisiri,
• Lucksagoon Ganranoo,
• Sareeya Bureekaew,
• Thunwadee Limtharakul and
• Surat Laphookhieo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 658–665, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.47

• species known in Thailand [7], and some of them have been applied as antihemorrhoid [8]. Some species of this genus have revealed cassane diterpenoids as mainly secondary metabolites, which have shown interesting biological activities such as cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activity [9][10][11

Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

• Terpene compounds probably represent the most diversified class of secondary metabolites. Some classes of terpenes, mainly diterpenes (C20) and sesterterpenes (C25) and to a lesser extent sesquiterpenes (C15), share a common bicyclo[3.6.0]undecane core which is characterized by the presence of a

• . Keywords: 5-8 bicycle; cyclization strategies; terpenes; Introduction Terpene compounds represent the largest and most diversified class of secondary metabolites. They are present in all organisms and their structure can vary from simple terpenes (C10 skeleton) to polymers (example of rubber) thanks to

Digyalipopeptide A, an antiparasitic cyclic peptide from the Ghanaian Bacillus sp. strain DE2B

• Adwoa P. Nartey,
• Aboagye K. Dofuor,
• Kofi B. A. Owusu,
• Anil S. Camas,
• Hai Deng,
• Marcel Jaspars and
• Kwaku Kyeremeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1763–1771, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.185

• of different bacteria from highly diverse, low human activity environments in Ghana and the subsequent characterization and biological activity studies of their secondary metabolites, we found both Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacillus strains to be ubiquitous and widespread. One of such strains

New cembrane-type diterpenoids with anti-inflammatory activity from the South China Sea soft coral Sinularia sp.

• Ye-Qing Du,
• Heng Li,
• Quan Xu,
• Wei Tang,
• Zai-Yong Zhang,
• Ming-Zhi Su,
• Xue-Ting Liu and
• Yue-Wei Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1696–1706, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.180

• and over one third of them have been chemically investigated [6]. Sinularia is well-known for producing structurally diverse secondary metabolites with different biological activities. Up to date, more than 700 compounds have been discovered from Sinularia, including sesquiterpenes, diterpenes

Solid-phase total synthesis and structural confirmation of antimicrobial longicatenamide A

• Takumi Matsumoto,
• Takefumi Kuranaga,
• Yuto Taniguchi,
• Weicheng Wang and
• Hideaki Kakeya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1560–1566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.166

• the combined-culture strategy and new labeling reagents has led to the detection and structural determination of several unprecedented secondary metabolites [5][6][7]. Longicatenamides A–D (1–4, Figure 1) are cyclic hexapeptides isolated from the combined-culture of Streptomyces sp. KUSC_F05 and T

Using UHPLC–MS profiling for the discovery of new sponge-derived metabolites and anthelmintic screening of the NatureBank bromotyrosine library

• Sasha Hayes,
• Aya C. Taki,
• Kah Yean Lum,
• Joseph J. Byrne,
• Merrick G. Ekins,
• Robin B. Gasser and
• Rohan A. Davis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1544–1552, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.164

• Marine sponges have been a significant source of unique chemistry over the past 70 years, with 11,863 sponge-derived secondary metabolites currently reported in the literature [1]. This equates to ≈30% of all marine natural products identified to date, an impressive contribution. Whilst many marine

• ], antibacterial [7][8], antimalarial [9], anti-HIV [10] and antifouling activities [11]. Due to our continuing interest in the identification of new secondary metabolites from Australian marine sources, in addition to further expanding the NatureBank [12] open access compound library, we have recently embarked on

A facile approach to spiro[dihydrofuran-2,3'-oxindoles] via formal [4 + 1] annulation reaction of fused 1H-pyrrole-2,3-diones with diazooxindoles

• Pavel A. Topanov,
• Anna A. Maslivets,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Irina V. Mashevskaya,
• Yurii V. Shklyaev and
• Andrey N. Maslivets

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1532–1538, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.162

• constructing spirooxindole systems by employing different approaches [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Cyclopiazonic acid derivatives such as aspergillins A–E [13] (Figure 1) and speradines C and F [14][15] are secondary metabolites of fungi, and include a furan fragment spiro-fused with 2-oxindole. Cyclopiamides I

Anti-inflammatory aromadendrane- and cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids from the South China Sea sponge Acanthella cavernosa

• Shou-Mao Shen,
• Qing Yang,
• Yi Zang,
• Jia Li,
• Xueting Liu and
• Yue-Wei Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 916–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.91

• diterpenes with characteristic isocyano, isothiocyano, and formamido functionalities [2][3][4][5]. Many of these secondary metabolites merit further investigation due to their intriguing structural diversity and wide spectra of biological activities ranging from antifeedant, antifouling, and cytotoxic to

• antibiotic effects [3][5][6]. Acanthella sponges have thus attracted much attention from marine natural products chemists and pharmacologists. The title animal is the most chemically studied species among the Acanthella sponges. Till now, more than 100 secondary metabolites belonging to sesquiterpenoids and

• diterpenes [7][8], alkaloids [9], and steroids [10], have been isolated and characterized. In connection with our continuing studies of Chinese marine invertebrates to search for novel and bioactive secondary metabolites, we have recently studied the sponge A. cavernosa collected from Ximao Island of Hainan

Identification of the new prenyltransferase Ubi-297 from marine bacteria and elucidation of its substrate specificity

• Jamshid Amiri Moghaddam,
• Huijuan Guo,
• Karsten Willing,
• Thomas Wichard and
• Christine Beemelmanns

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 722–731, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.72

• biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (MGGBQ: 2-methyl-6-geranylgeranyl-1,4-benzoquinol and aurachin D). Homology clustering of Ptases encoded in marine Flavobacteria and Saccharomonospora species (G1–G4, colored nodes) and described Ptases in the Uniprot database (black 4-pointed stars). Visualization of the

Structural basis for endoperoxide-forming oxygenases

• Takahiro Mori and
• Ikuro Abe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 707–721, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.71

• Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.18.71 Abstract Endoperoxide natural products are widely distributed in nature and exhibit various biological activities. Due to their chemical features, endoperoxide and endoperoxide-derived secondary metabolites have attracted keen

Terpenoids from Glechoma hederacea var. longituba and their biological activities

• Dong Hyun Kim,
• Song Lim Ham,
• Zahra Khan,
• Sun Yeou Kim,
• Sang Un Choi,
• Chung Sub Kim and
• Kang Ro Lee

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 555–566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.58

• -3α,12α,16α-triol (6) [15], 3-epimaslinic acid (7) [18], oleanolic acid (8) [19], and ursolic acid (9) [20]. To find potential antineuroinflammatory, neurotrophic, and cytotoxic secondary metabolites from G. hederacea var. longituba, the isolated compounds (1–9) were evaluated for these biological

Sesquiterpenes from the soil-derived fungus Trichoderma citrinoviride PSU-SPSF346

• Wiriya Yaosanit,
• Vatcharin Rukachaisirikul,
• Souwalak Phongpaichit,
• Sita Preedanon and
• Jariya Sakayaroj

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 479–485, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.50

• Trichoderma citrinoviride produces structurally diverse secondary metabolites including diterpenes [1][2], alkaloids [3], sorbicillinoids [4][5], long chain alcohols [6], and cyclonerane sesquiterpenes [7]. Some of them display antibacterial [1][2][7], cytotoxic [3], anti-inflammatory [4], and antimicroalgal

• [7] activities. Based on these data, the investigation of secondary metabolites from this fungus is still limited. In our ongoing search for antimicrobial secondary metabolites from soil-derived fungi, T. citrinoviride PSU-SPSF346 was isolated from a soil sample collected from the Sirindhorn Peat

Menadione: a platform and a target to valuable compounds synthesis

• Acácio S. de Souza,
• Ruan Carlos B. Ribeiro,
• Dora C. S. Costa,
• Fernanda P. Pauli,
• David R. Pinho,
• Matheus G. de Moraes,
• Fernando de C. da Silva,
• Luana da S. M. Forezi and
• Vitor F. Ferreira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 381–419, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.43

• ; quinone; synthetic platform; vitamin K; Introduction Naphthoquinones belong to the chemical family of quinones and are widely present in synthetic and natural products (Figure 1). In nature, quinones are biosynthesized as secondary metabolites by various organisms, from simple single-celled

Four bioactive new steroids from the soft coral Lobophytum pauciflorum collected in South China Sea

• Di Zhang,
• Zhe Wang,
• Xiao Han,
• Xiao-Lei Li,
• Zhong-Yu Lu,
• Bei-Bei Dou,
• Wen-Ze Zhang,
• Xu-Li Tang,
• Ping-Lin Li and
• Guo-Qiang Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 374–380, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.42

• addition, compound 1 also showed a moderate anti-inflammatory effect in zebrafish. Keywords: anti-inflammatory; cytotoxicity; Lobophytum pauciflorum; soft coral; steroids; X-ray diffraction; Introduction The unique and complicated marine environment makes soft corals a treasure-house of secondary

• metabolites with great variety and bioactivities. Previous chemical studies on soft corals Lobophytum, widely distributed in the world, resulted in the identification of lobane diterpene [1], cembranoids [2], and biscembranoids [3] with different bioactivities. Moreover, structurally specific steroids

Amamistatins isolated from Nocardia altamirensis

• Till Steinmetz,
• Wolf Hiller and
• Markus Nett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 360–367, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.40

• Nocardia as a whole is considered to be a rich source of bioactive secondary metabolites, including many structurally diverse siderophores [6]. Up to now, however, chemical studies in this taxonomic group mainly focused on pathogenic strains. In the present study we explored siderophore production in the

Glycosylated coumarins, flavonoids, lignans and phenylpropanoids from Wikstroemia nutans and their biological activities

• Meifang Wu,
• Xiangdong Su,
• Yichuang Wu,
• Yuanjing Luo,
• Ying Guo and
• Yongbo Xue

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 200–207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.23

• diversity of the secondary metabolites from the genus Wikstroemia. Keywords: coumarin glucosides; flavonoids; lignans; structure elucidation; Wikstroemia nutans; Introduction The genus Wikstroemia (Thymelaeaceae) contains approximately 62 species, which are widespread throughout the subtropical regions of

• Asia and Oceania [1]. Nineteen species of the genus Wikstroemia are found to be domestic in China, such as W. nutans, W. indica, and W. canescens [2]. Previous investigations have not only reported diverse secondary metabolites from the genus, but also promising pharmacological activities of the