Re-collections of the cyanobacterium Lyngbya sp. have yielded two more members of the lyngbyapeptin and lyngbyabellin families. The gross structures of 15-norlyngbyapeptin A (1) and lyngbyabellin D (3) were deduced through standard 2D NMR techniques, with the absolute configuration of both elucidated through degradation and comparison with commercially available and synthetic standards. Degradation to the a-amino acid and NOE correlations determined the absolute and relative configuration of the 4-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylhexanoic acid unit in 3. Lyngbyabellin D (3) displayed an IC50 value of 0.1 jiiM. against the KB cell line.The innumerable environmental pressures faced by marine cyanobacteria have undoubtedly catalyzed a tremendous genetic diversity, which often manifests itself in the production of secondary metabolites. By one estimate, almost 10% of the cyanobacterial genome may be devoted to this cause. 1 We have spent the past few years involved in the chemical characterization of secondary metabolites from a particular strain of Lyngbya sp. (Oscillatoriaceae) found in Palau and Guam. 2 This field-collected cyanobacterium, easily identifiable by the presence of a small shrimp 3 within the algal mat, produces an extraordinary array of secondary metabolites. Collections of this cyanobacterium made over the previous 10 years have yielded eight distinct classes of metabolites, consisting of some 26 different compounds. 24
Results and DiscussionSeveral large re-collections of the cyanobacterium were undertaken in Guam during the Spring of 2002 to facilitate further biological evaluation of two of these cytotoxins, the apratoxins 4 and lyngbyabellins. 2a Reported here are the isolation and structure determination, from these extracts, of 15-norlyngbyapeptin A (1) and lyngbyabellin D (3), which were both isolated in 3 x 10~4% of the cyanobacterium's dry weight. Lyngbyabellin D (3) displayed an IC50 value of 0.1 fiM against the KB cell line. 5 The richly detailed proton NMR spectrum of 1 ( a The numbering system for lyngbyapeptin A (2) has been adopted. 6a The NMR spectra of 1 and lyngbyapeptin A (2) were nearly superimposable, but 1 lacked the signals for the aromatic methoxy group on the tyrosine unit (C-15), which established 1 as 15-norlyngbyapeptin A. Fragments derived from 10