The compounds terrein (1), butyrolactone I (2), and butyrolactone V (3) were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract (EtOAc) of the endophytic fungus Aspergillus terreus-F7 obtained from Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. The extract and the compounds presented schistosomicidal activity against Schistosoma mansoni; at 100 µg/mL for EtOAc extract, 1297.3 µM for compound 1, 235.6 µM for compound 2, and 454.1 µM for compound 3, they killed 100% of the parasites after 72 h of treatment. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 exerted moderate leishmanicidal activity against Leishmania amazonensis (IC ranged from 23.7 to 78.6 µM). At 235.6 and 227.0 µM, compounds 2 and 3, respectively, scavenged 95.92 and 95.12% of the DPPH radical (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl), respectively. Regarding the cytotoxicity against the breast tumor cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, compound 2 gave IC of 34.4 and 17.4 µM, respectively, while compound 3 afforded IC of 22.2 and 31.9 µM, respectively. At 117.6 µM, compound 2 inhibited the growth of and killed the pathogen Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922). Compounds 1, 2, and 3 displayed low toxicity against the normal line of human lung fibroblasts (GM07492A cells), with IC of 15.3 × 10, 3.4 × 10, and 5.8 × 10 µM, respectively. This is the first report on (i) the in vitro schistosomicidal and leishmanicidal activities of the EtOAc extract of A. terreus-F7 and compounds 1, 2, and 3; and (ii) the antitumor activity of compounds 2 and 3 against MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells.

Chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract from the endophytic fungus Diaporthe phaseolorum-92C (92C) isolated from the roots of Combretum lanceolatum led to the isolation of 18-des-hydroxy Cytochalasin H (compound 1). The trypanocidal and schistosomicidal activity and cytotoxicity of the extract from 92C were evaluated. The schistosomicidal, leishmanicidal, antimicrobial, and antioxidant actions, as well as the antitumor activity against the breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, and the cytotoxicity towards normal human lung fibroblasts GM07492A of compound 1 was tested. The extract from 92C (20 μg/mL) exerted potent trypanocidal activity, reducing 82% of the number of amastigotes and trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi. Compound 1 at 50 μg/mL killed 50% of Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. Compound 1 reduced the viability of Leishmania amazonenses promastigotes (IC = 9.2 μg/mL) and of the cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 (IC = 17.5 and 8.88 μg/mL, respectively), presented moderate antioxidant activity, and gave IC of 2049.7 ± 39.9 μg/mL for the cytotoxicity towards normal cells GM07492A. This knowledge is highly relevant to the search for new promising compounds for therapeutic purposes.

Aim To identify endophytic bacteria in Brazilian cacti, and to evaluate the effects of those bacteria on the growth of Cereus jamacaru seedlings and phosphate solubilization in vitro. Methods Samples of roots and stems of C. jamacaru and Melocactus zehntneri were collected from the Aiuaba ecological Station in Brazilian semi-arid region. Bacterial isolates were cultured in semi-solid N-free media and grown in Pikoskaya's and GL media phosphate solubilizing. In seedling assays, strains of Rhizobium (CAC 01), Enterobacter (CAC 02 and CAC 11), Pseudomonas (CAC 03) and Burkholderia (CAC 07 and CAC 10) were tested. Results Culturable endophytic bacteria were observed in all samples from cacti, but the populations were low.Representatives of eight groups were identified based on partial sequences of 16S rDNA and were related to Rhizobium, Burkholderia, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Pantoea species. The colonization of seedlings with endophytic bacteria was observed, but biomass accumulation did not show a significant increase. All strains were able to grow on solid Pikoskaya's medium. Conclusions The bacterial strains didn't increase significantly the cactus biomass during 6 months of cultivation, but showing potential phosphate solubilizing activity.

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Interactions between plants and microorganism are complex and can affect the establishment of plant communities and change ecosystem properties. These interactions are of interest for researchers and have many ecological and biotechnological applications. The present study is the first report on the microbial diversity associated with Butia purpurascens Glassman, and the goal was to isolate and identify the genetic diversity of endophytic and rhizospheric growable microorganisms from B. purpurascens using molecular biology techniques. Endophytic and rhizospheric microorganisms were isolated from the roots and rhizospheric soil of the purple yatay palm. DNA was extracted, and the 16S region for bacteria and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region for fungi were amplified and sequenced. The resulting sequences were compared with known sequences from GenBank by similarity search using BLASTn. The rhizosphere and roots of B. purpurascens harbor a diverse set of microorganism groups. Fourteen (14) genera of endophytic and 12 genera of rhizospheric bacteria were identified that belonged to three phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria), and 11 endophytic and six rhizospheric genera of fungi were identified that belonged to the phylum Ascomycota. The most frequent isolated genera were Enterobacter and Pseudomonas for endophytic bacteria, Gibberella and Codinaeopsis for endophytic fungi, Bacillus and Enterobacter for rhizospheric bacteria, and Ceratocystis for rhizospheric fungi. Differences were observed between the endophytic and rhizospheric microbial communities of B. purpurascens, with some microorganisms only detected in one environment. Further studies with a higher number of individuals are required to confirm these results.

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