Novel terpenoids of the fungus Aspergillus insuetus isolated from the Mediterranean sponge Psammocinia sp. collected along the coast of Israel

Fungal association with sessile marine invertebrates

“…Nonetheless, cultured fungi isolated from sessile marine animals have been demonstrated to be capable of producing novel chemicals which have the potential to affect the marine hosts and their microbiome. These findings have been driven both by ecological/physiological-based research as well as bioprospecting efforts aimed at obtaining novel bioactive compounds (e.g., Höller et al, 2000; Wang et al, 2008; Cohen et al, 2011; Panizel et al, 2013 and reviewed in Raghukumar, 2008; Imhoff et al, 2011; Rateb and Ebel, 2011). Though understanding the nature of the cross-talk between the host and its associated microorganisms has mainly focused on the bacterial components, some studies on host–fungal interactions have been carried out.…”

Symbionts, a promising source of bioactive natural products

“…The Aspergillus insuetus OY-207 derived from the Mediterranean sponge Psammocinia species generates three novel meroterpenoids, insuetolides A-C (222-224, Scheme 16), of which 222 is antifungal against Neurospora crassa [75]. Penicillipyrones A (225, Scheme 15) and B (226, Scheme 15) were characterized as novel metabolites from the Scheme 15 Structures of terpenoids 212-226 produced by marinederived symbionts.…”

Cytotoxic Natural Products from Marine Sponge-Derived Microorganisms

“…( E )-6-(40-hydroxy-20-butenoyl)-strobilactone A ( 5 ), isolated from Aspergillus insuetus (OY-207) colonizing in a Mediterranean sponge Psammocinia sp., was shown to have a cytotoxic effect on the MOLT-4 cell line by 55% at 50 mg/mL [12]. Two new dimers of phenolic bisabolane sesquiterpenoid 6 and 7 (Chart 2) were metabolized by a marine-derived fungus Aspergillus sp.…”

“…(collected approximately 200 m off-shore from Sdot-Yam, Israel). Compound 27 exhibited mild cytotoxicity towards human leukemia MOLT-4 cells [12]. Another Aspergillus strain derived from an unidentified sponge (collected at Manele Bay, HI, USA) was found to metabolize three new cytotoxic meroterpenoids, tropolactones A–C ( 28 – 30 ) (Chart 6), which showed weak cytotoxicity against human colon adenocarcinoma cells (HCT-116) with IC 50 values of 13.2, 10.9 and 13.9 µM, respectively [19].…”