Chemical examination of a phylogenetically unique strain of the obligate marine actinomycete Salinispora pacifica led to the discovery of four new polyketides, salinipyrones A and B (1, 2) and pacificanones A and B (3, 4). These compounds appear to be derived from a mixed-precursor polyketide biosynthesis involving acetate, propionate, and butyrate building blocks. Spectral analysis, employing NMR, IR, UV, and CD methods and chemical derivatization, was used to assign the structures and absolute configurations of these new metabolites. Salinipyrones A and B displayed exactly opposite CD spectra, indicating their pseudoenantiomeric relationship. This relationship was shown to be a consequence of the geometric isomerization of one double bond. The phenomenon of polyketide module skipping is proposed to explain the unusual biosynthesis of the salinipyrones and the pacificanones.The existence of actinomycetes indigenous to the marine environment has been debated, 1 but recent research results have shown that the ocean is indeed a rich habitat for these chemically prolific microorganisms. Although their ecological roles in the marine environment remain largely unknown, some marine actinomycetes are adapted to live in seawater, some are found in association with invertebrate hosts, while others have been recovered from the deepest ocean trenches. As an example, a salt-dependent pelagic marine actinomycete belonging to the family Nocardioidaceae was recently identified in surface sea water. 2 Marine invertebrates, especially sponges, are now well-known as hosts for diverse bacterial assemblages and represent rich sources for novel actinobacteria. 3 From marine sediments, we recently reported the first obligate marine actinomycete genus, the Salinispora ,4 which has proven to be a prolific source of secondary metabolites. 5 Our continuing research on Salinispora diversity, based upon comprehensive comparisons of 16S rDNA sequence data, has resulted in the cultivation of a third Salinispora species for which the name Salinispora pacifica has been proposed. 6 An investigation of the secondary metabolites produced by S. pacifica led to the isolation of the structurally novel metabolites cyanosporasides A and B, which raised intriguing questions about the genetic capacity of Salinispora strains to produce enediyne antibiotics. 7 Further genetic analysis of other S. pacifica strains collected from Palau 8 revealed a new phylotype (strain CNS-237) that differed from the cyanosporaside-producing strains at only three nucleotide positions (16S rRNA gene). 9 Chemical screening of this strain by LC-MS analysis indicated that a secondary metabolite profile was quite different from those of the other S. pacifica phylotypes.* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: (858) 534-2133. Fax: (858) 534-1318. wfenical@ucsd.edu. Supporting Information Available: 1 H, 13 C, and 2D NMR spectra of 1-5, 1 H NMR data for the MTPA esters 6a and 6b, LC/MS traces of CNS-237, and additional discussion about the relative configurati...