A deep-sea isolate of the psychrotolerant yeast Cryptococcus sp. (NIOCC#PY13) obtained from polymetallic nodule-bearing sediments of the Central Indian Basin was examined for its capacity to grow in the presence of various concentrations of the heavy metal salts i.e., ZnSO 4 , CuSO 4 , Pb(CH 3 COO) 2 and CdCl 2 . It demonstrated considerable growth in the presence of 100 mg/l concentrations of the above-mentioned four heavy metal salts both at 30 C and 15 C. This strain tolerated comparatively higher levels of these four metal salts than other deep-sea and terrestrial yeast isolates belonging to Cryptococcus, Rhodotorula, Rhodosporidium and Sporidiobolus spp. Optimum pH for growth of this isolate was in the range of 6-8 in the presence of heavy metal salts at these two temperatures. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies exhibited altered cell surface morphology of the cells under the influence of heavy metals compared to that with control. The adsorption of heavy metals to the cells was demonstrated by FTIR and EDAX analysis. As evidenced by atomic absorption spectrophotometric (AAS) analysis, about 30-90% of the heavy metals were removed from the culture supernatant after 4 days of growth at 30C. This deep-sea yeast isolate appears to be a potential candidate for bioremediation of metal-contaminated sites. Moreover, its metal tolerance properties provide a significant insight into its ecological role and adaptations to growth in such extreme conditions.
The marine fungus, Aspergillus flavipes (MTCC 5220), was isolated from the pneumatophore of a mangrove plant Acanthus ilicifolius found in Goa, India. The crude extract of A. flavipes was found to show anti‐inflammatory activity. It blocked interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐activated THP‐1 cells with IC50 of 2.69±0.5 μM and 6.64±0.4 μM, respectively. The chemical investigation led to the isolation of optically inactive 4β‐[(1E)‐propen‐1‐yl]cyclopentane‐1β,2β‐diol (1) along with a new optically active diastereoisomeric compound, 4β‐[(1E)‐propen‐1‐yl]cyclopentane‐1β,2α‐diol (2). In addition, the fungus also produced known compounds (+)‐terrein (3), butyrolactone I (4) and butyrolactone II (5) in high yields. Among these, (+)‐terrein (3) exhibited IL‐6 and TNF‐α inhibition activity with IC50 of 8.5±0.68 μM and 15.76±0.18 μM, respectively, while butyrolactone I (4) exhibited IC50 of 12.03±0.85 μM (IL‐6) and 43.29±0.76 μM (TNF‐α) inhibition activity with low toxicity to host cells in LPS stimulated THP‐1 cells. This is the first report of the isolation and characterization of 4β‐[(1E)‐propen‐1‐yl]cyclopentane‐1β,2α‐diol (2). The structures of all the isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive detailed NMR spectroscopic data. Anti‐inflammatory activity of the fungi A. flavipes is presented here for the first time, which was due to (+)‐terrein and butyrolactone I, as the major constituents and they can be further explored in the therapeutic area.
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