Gregatin A (1) is a fungal polyketide featuring an alkylated furanone core, but the biosynthetic mechanism to furnish the intriguing molecular skeleton has yet to be elucidated. Herein, we have identified the biosynthetic gene cluster of gregatin A (1) in Penicillium sp. sh18 and investigated the mechanism that produces the intriguing structure of 1 by in vivo and in vitro reconstitution of its biosynthesis. Our study established the biosynthetic route leading to 1 and illuminated that 1 is generated by the fusion of two different polyketide chains, which are, amazingly, synthesized by a single polyketide synthase GrgA with the aid of a trans-acting enoylreductase GrgB. Chain fusion, as well as chain hydrolysis, is catalyzed by an α/β hydrolase, GrgF, hybridizing the C11 and C4 carbon chains by Claisen condensation. Finally, structural analysis and mutational experiments using GrgF provided insight into how the enzyme facilitates the unusual chain-fusing reaction. In unraveling a new biosynthetic strategy involving a bifunctional PKS and a polyketide fusing enzyme, our study expands our knowledge concerning fungal polyketide biosynthesis.

A new method for the simultaneous determination of seven heavy metal ions in water by solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was developed. The copper, nickel, cobalt, silver, lead, cadmium, and mercury ions were pre-column derivatized with tetra( m-aminophenyl)porphyrin (T m-APP) to form colored chelates. The metal-T m-APP chelates in 100 mL of sample were preconcentrated to 1 mL by solid-phase extraction with a C(18 )cartridge; an enrichment factor of 100 was achieved. The chelates were separated on a Waters Xterra()RP(18) column by gradient elution with methanol (containing 0.05 mol L(-1) pyrrolidine-acetic acid buffer salt, pH 10.0) and acetone (containing 0.05 mol L(-1) pyrrolidine-acetic acid buffer salt, pH 10.0) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1) and detected with a photodiode array detector. The detection limits of copper, cobalt, nickel, silver, lead, cadmium, and mercury are 2, 2, 3, 4, 3, 3, and 3 ng L(-1), respectively, in the original sample. The method was also applied to the determination of these metals in water with good results.

Five new icetexane diterpenoids, namely, perovskatones B-D (1, 3, 4), 1α-hydroxybrussonol (2), and 1α-hydroxypisiferanol (5), were isolated from Perovskia atriplicifolia, together with a new natural product (6) and two known compounds, przewalskin E (7) and brussonol (8). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by detailed analyses of their MS, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR data. Compounds 1-8 were assayed for their inhibitory hepatitis B virus activities in the HepG 2.2.15 cell line. The results suggested that compounds 1 and 2 possessed noticeable anti-hepatitis B virus activity in vitro, suppressing the replication of hepatitis B virus DNA with selectivity index values of 154.3 and 137.7, respectively.

The biosynthesis of the fungal meroterpenoid chevalone E and its derivatives has been successfully elucidated and reconstituted.

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Seven new unusual dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, neglignans A-G (1-7), together with 16 known dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, were isolated from the stems of Schisandra neglecta. Compounds 1 and 2 are the first dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans bearing a carboxyl group at C-4, and compounds 3 and 4 are the first 7,8-seco-dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans found from Nature. The new compounds (1-7) and several of the known compounds were evaluated for their anti-HIV activity and cytotoxicity. Compounds 2 and 6 showed anti-HIV-1 activities with therapeutic index values greater than 50, and compound 4 showed cytotoxicity against the NB4 and SHSY5Y cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 2.9 and 3.3 μM, respectively.

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