Chemical investigations of fungicolous and coprophilous fungi

Abstract

Dement is specially mentioned for always cheering me up, for his liveliness, and for all the pep talks. I also really value all the nice times spent with In Hyun, Nicole, and Nick. My eternal love Chethya is specially mentioned for always being by my side, for all the encouragement and motivation, and for all the amazing times that were spent and will be spent together. All my friends in Iowa City deserve a special recognition for their amazing friendship and helping me through tough times, and the Iowa Sri Lankan family for always being there for me, for their continuous support, and for all the lovely times we spent together. The constant moral support and strength given to me by my family and friends back in Sri Lanka are highly appreciated. I also cherish all the yacking sessions we had online, which took all the stress of graduate school away from me. Last but not the least, my mother for all her sacrifices, commitments, and dedication in bringing me up and shaping me in to a respectable citizen after I lost my father at the age of 10. I don't think I will ever be able to repay her for everything she has done for me. I am the person I am today purely because of her and I can't thank her enough for that. She is and will be the pillar of strength of my life forever! v ABSTRACT Fungi are renowned for their ability to produce a wide array of secondary metabolites with unique and diverse structures. Some of these compounds possess important biological activities, which make them useful agents in medicine for treatment of various diseases or in agriculture for control/elimination of pests and pathogens of economically important crops. However, there still remains great untapped potential in the fungal kingdom as only about 100,000 species have been formally described out of approximately 1.5 million species that exist. Many fungi are fairly ubiquitous in soil or other common substrates, while others belong to more specific niche groups and are categorized as marine, freshwater, endophytic, fungicolous/mycoparasitic, or coprophilous, or with other descriptors, based on their ecological origin. Some of these niche groups, such as marine and endophytic fungi, have been commonly studied in recent years, while others, including coprophilous fungi, remain relatively underexplored. Studies on these underexplored groups could potentially yield more new and structurally unique compounds with important biological activities. Different research groups