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Oceanalin B (1), an α,ω-bipolar natural product belonging to a rare family of sphingoid tetrahydoisoquinoline β-glycosides, was isolated from the EtOH extract of the lyophilized marine sponge Oceanapia sp. as the second member of the series after oceanalin A (2) from the same animal. The compounds are of particular interest due to their biogenetically unexpected structures as well as their biological activities. The structure and absolute stereochemistry of 1 as a α,ω-bifunctionalized sphingoid tetrahydroisoquinoline β-glycoside was elucidated using NMR, CD and MS spectral analysis and chemical degradation. Oceanalin B exhibited in vitro antifungal activity against Candidaglabrata with a MIC of 25 μg/mL.

Marine sediments host diverse actinomycetes that serve as a source of new natural products to combat infectious diseases and cancer. Here, we report the biodiversity, bioactivities against ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) and ovarian cancer, and metabolites variation among culturable actinomycetes isolated from the marine sediments of Visayan Sea, Philippines. We identified 15 Streptomyces species based on a 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The crude extracts of 10 Streptomyces species have inhibited the growth of ESKAPE pathogens with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 0.312 mg/mL to 20 mg/mL depending on the strain and pathogens targeted. Additionally, ten crude extracts have antiproliferative activity against A2780 human ovarian carcinoma at 2 mg/mL. To highlight, we observed that four phylogenetically identical Streptomyces albogriseolus strains demonstrated variation in antibiotic and anticancer activities. These strains harbored type I and II polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal synthetase (NRPS) genes in their genomes, implying that their bioactivity is independent of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-detected bio-synthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in this study. Metabolite profiling revealed that the taxonomically identical strains produced core and strain-specific metabolites. Thus, the chemical diversity among these strains influences the variation observed in their biological activities. This study expanded our knowledge on the potential of marine-derived Streptomyces residing from the unexplored regions of the Visayan Sea as a source of small molecules against ESKAPE pathogens and cancer. It also highlights that Streptomyces species strains produce unique strain-specific secondary metabolites, thus, offering new chemical space for natural product discovery.

The marine ecosystem has become the hotspot for finding antibiotic-producing actinomycetes across the globe. Although marine-derived actinomycetes display strain-level genomic and chemodiversity, it is unclear whether functional traits, i.e., antibiotic activity, vary in near-identical Streptomyces species. Here, we report culture-dependent isolation, antibiotic activity, phylogeny, biodiversity, abundance, and distribution of Streptomyces isolated from marine sediments across the west-central Philippines. Out of 2212 marine sediment-derived actinomycete strains isolated from 11 geographical sites, 92 strains exhibited antibacterial activities against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. The 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequence analyses confirmed that antibiotic-producing strains belong to the genus Streptomyces, highlighting Streptomyces parvulus as the most dominant species and three possible new species. Antibiotic-producing Streptomyces strains were highly diverse in Southern Antique, and species diversity increase with marine sediment depth. Multiple strains with near-identical 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequences displayed varying strength of antibiotic activities. The genotyping of PKS and NRPS genes revealed that closely related antibiotic-producing strains have similar BGC domains supported by their close phylogenetic proximity. These findings collectively suggest Streptomyces' intraspecies adaptive characteristics in distinct ecological niches that resulted in outcompeting other bacteria through differential antibiotic production.

Honey exhibits antibacterial and antioxidant activities that are ascribed to its diverse secondary metabolites. In the Philippines, the antibacterial and antioxidant activities, as well as the bioactive metabolite contents of the honey, have not been thoroughly described. In this report, we investigated the in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities of honey from Apis mellifera and Tetragonula biroi, identified the compound responsible for the antibacterial activity, and compared the observed bioactivities and metabolite profiles to that of Manuka honey, which is recognized for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The secondary metabolite contents of honey were extracted using a nonionic polymeric resin followed by antibacterial and antioxidant assays, and then spectroscopic analyses of the phenolic and flavonoid contents. Results showed that honey extracts produced by T. biroi exhibits antibiotic activity against Staphylococcal pathogens as well as high antioxidant activity, which are correlated to its high flavonoid and phenolic content as compared to honey produced by A. mellifera. The bioassay-guided fractionation paired with Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) and tandem MS analyses found the presence of the flavonoid isorhamnetin (3-methylquercetin) in T. biroi honey extract, which was demonstrated as one of the compounds with inhibitory activity against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA-44. Our findings suggest that Philippine honey produced by T. biroi is a potential nutraceutical that possesses antibiotic and antioxidant activities.

Oceanapiside (OPS), a marine natural product with a novel bifunctional sphingolipid structure, is fungicidal against fluconazole-resistant Candida glabrata at 10 μg/mL (15.4 μM). The fungicidal effect was observed at 3 to 4 h after exposure to cells. Cytological and morphological studies revealed that OPS affects the budding patterns of treated yeast cells with a significant increase in the number of cells with single small buds. In addition, this budding morphology was found to be sensitive in the presence of OPS. Moreover, the number of cells with single medium-sized buds and cells with single large buds were decreased significantly, indicating that fewer cells were transformed to these budding patterns, suggestive of inhibition of polarized growth. OPS was also observed to disrupt the organized actin assembly in C. glabrata, which correlates with inhibition of budding and polarized growth. It was also demonstrated that phytosphingosine (PHS) reversed the antifungal activity of oceanapiside. We quantified the amount of long chain-bases (LCBs) and phytoceramide from the crude extracts of treated cells using LC-ESI-MS. PHS concentration was elevated in extracts of cells treated with OPS when compared with cells treated with miconazole and amphotericin B. Elevated levels of PHS in OPS-treated cells confirms that OPS affects the pathway at a step downstream of PHS synthesis. These results also demonstrated that OPS has a mechanism of action different to those of miconazole and amphotericin B and interdicts fungal sphingolipid metabolism by specifically inhibiting the step converting PHS to phytoceramide.

The rise of antibiotic resistance (ABR) and the drying up of the pipeline for the development of new antibiotics demands an urgent search for new antibiotic leads. While the majority of clinically available antibiotics were discovered from terrestrial Streptomyces, related species from marine sediments as a source of antibiotics remain underexplored. Here, we utilized culture-dependent isolation of thirty-five marine sediment-derived actinobacterial isolates followed by a screening of their antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant S. aureus ATCC BAA-44. Our results revealed that the crude extract of Streptomyces griseorubens strain DSD069 isolated from marine sediments collected in Romblon, Philippines displays the highest antibacterial activity, with 96.4% growth inhibition. The S. aureus ATCC BAA-44 cells treated with crude extract of Streptomyces griseorubens strain DSD069 showed cell membrane damage as demonstrated by (a) leakage and loss of vital cell constituents, including DNA and proteins, (b) irregular shrinkage of cells, and (c) increase membrane permeability. The antibiotic compounds were identified as Bisanhydroaklavinone and 1-Hydroxybisanhydroaklavinone with MIC value of 6.25 μg/mL and 50.00 μg/mL, respectively. Bisanhydroaklavinone and 1-Hydroxybisanhydroaklavinone are shunt metabolites in the biosynthesis of anticancer anthracycline derivatives namely doxorubicin, daunorubicin, and cinerubins. It is rare, however, that shunt metabolites are accumulated during fermentation of marine sediment-derived Streptomyces strain without genetic modification. Thus, our study provides evidence that natural bacterial strain can produce Bisanhydroaklavinone and 1-Hydroxybisanhydroaklavinone as antibiotic leads to combat ABR.

The new ansa macrolide antibiotics 1 to 4 have been isolated from cultures of a Micromonospora sp. obtained from a marine sediment. Rifamycins 1 and 2 are the first natural ansa macrolides to have a 3-amino substituent. Sporalactams A (3) and B (4) are comprised of a heterocylic core 5 and a 14-membered ansa bridge that are both unprecedented. Sporalactam B (4) shows selective and potent inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Cryptococcus gattii is a human pathogen and causative agent of a pernicious, sometimes fatal, disseminated fungal disease. Investigation of antifungal extracts of the marine sponge association Plakortis halichondrioides-Xestospongia deweerdtae and the sponge Plakortis zyggompha from the Bahamas led to the discovery and isolation of 6-epi-7,8-dihydroplakortide K (1), plakortide AA (2), and three new plakinic acids, N-P (4-6; unstable 1,2-dioxolanes bearing benzyl-substituted conjugated dienes), along with known plakinic acids L, K, and M.5 Chiroptical comparisons and DFT calculations of (13)C NMR chemical shifts were used to assign the absolute stereostructure of 4. The stereospecific base-promoted rearrangement-saponification of 1 to 10 was briefly investigated and showed tight kinetic control and stereospecific formation of the new C-2 stereocenter with inversion at C-3. Plakinic acid M and plakortides 9 and 11 exhibited antifungal activity against C. gattii (MIC90 = 2.4 to 36 μM), but plakinic acids N-P were inactive under the same conditions.

International audience; Nahuoic acids A-E (1-5) have been isolated from laboratory cultures of a Streptomyces sp. obtained from a tropical marine sediment. The structures of the new polyketides 2-5 were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data of the natural products and the chemical derivatives 6 and 7. Nahuoic acids 1-5 are in vitro inhibitors of the histone methyltransferase SETD8, and nahuoic acid A (1) and its pentaacetate derivative 8 inhibit the proliferation of several cancer cells lines in vitro with modest potency. At the IC50 for cancer cell proliferation, nahuoic acid A (1) showed selective inhibition of SETD8 in U2OS osteosarcoma cells that reflect its selectivity against a panel of pure histone methyl transferases. A cell cycle analysis revealed that the cellular toxicity of nahuoic acid A (1) is likely linked to its ability to inhibit SETD8 activity.

The Philippine archipelago is geographically positioned in the tropics with rich areas of marine biodiversity. Its marine sediments harbor actinomycetes that exhibit antibacterial activity. Screening of actinomycetes isolated from marine sediments collected near the coast of Islas de Gigantes, Iloilo showed one isolate that exhibited high activity against the multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain carrying the Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) type 1 gene, a biomarker for drug resistance. The isolate was identified as Streptomyces sp. strain DSD011 based on its 16s rRNA and protein-coding genes (atpD, recA, rpoB, and trpB) sequences, and was found to be a new species of salt-tolerant marine Streptomyces. Further, the strain harbors both non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and type II polyketide synthase (PKS) in its genome. The targeted chromatographic isolation and chemical investigations by Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry-Time of Flight (LCMS-TOF), tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), and Global Natural Product Social molecular networking (GNPS) of the antibiotics produced by the strain afforded the two polycyclic aromatic polyketide angucycline glycosides, fridamycin A (1) and fridamycin D (2), which are products of type II PKS biosynthesis. Compounds 1 and 2 displayed antibacterial activity against MRSA with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 500 &mu, g/mL and 62.5 &mu, g/mL, respectively. These results suggest that the underexplored marine sediments near the coast of Islas de Gigantes, Iloilo offer access to undiscovered Streptomyces species that are invaluable sources of antibiotic leads.

Continually exposed to potential pathogens, vascular plants have evolved intricate defense mechanisms to recognize encroaching threats and defend themselves. They do so by inducing a set of defense responses that can help defeat and/or limit effects of invading pathogens, of which the non-host disease resistance response is the most common. In this regard, pea (Pisum sativum) pod tissue, when exposed to Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli spores, undergoes an inducible transcriptional activation of pathogenesis-related genes, and also produces (+)-pisatin, its major phytoalexin. One of the inducible pathogenesis-related genes is Disease Resistance Response-206 (DRR206), whose role in vivo was unknown. DRR206 is, however, related to the dirigent protein (DP) family. In this study, its biochemical function was investigated in planta, with the metabolite associated with its gene induction being pinoresinol monoglucoside. Interestingly, both pinoresinol monoglucoside and (+)-pisatin were co-localized in pea pod endocarp epidermal cells, as demonstrated using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging. In addition, endocarp epidermal cells are also the site for both chalcone synthase and DRR206 gene expression. Taken together, these data indicate that both (+)-pisatin and pinoresinol monoglucoside function in the overall phytoalexin responses.

A dimeric branched peptide TATp-D designed as an analogue of the HIV-Tat protein transduction domain (TATp), a prototypical cell penetrating peptide (CPP), demonstrates significantly enhanced cell uptake at 0.25 to 2.5 μM. Live cell confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that multivalency dramatically improved the permeation potency of TATp-D to HeLa and primary hippocampal neuronal cells. The observed enhanced ability of TATp-D to translocate through the membrane is highlighted by a non-linear dependence on concentration, exhibiting the greatest uptake at sub-micromolar concentrations as compared to TATp. Multimerization via bis-Fmoc Lysine offered a synthetically straightforward method to investigate the effects of multivalent CPPs while offering orthogonal handles for cargo attachment, increasing the utility of CPPs at significantly lower concentrations.

An endophytic fungus was isolated from surface sterilized leaf segments of Anoectochilus setaceus, an orchid endemic to Sri Lanka, and was identified as Xylaria sp. by morphological characters and DNA sequencing. Bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation of the organic extract of a laboratory culture of this fungus led to the isolation of the known antibacterial helvolic acid. Helvolic acid was active against the Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis [minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC), 2 μg mL−1] and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MIC, 4 μg mL−1).

Podophyllum hexandrum and, to a much lesser extent P. peltatum, are sources of podophyllotoxin, extensively used as a chemical scaffold for various anti-cancer drugs. In this study, integrated omics technologies (including advanced mass spectrometry/metabolomics, transcriptome sequencing/gene assemblies, and bioinformatics) gave unequivocal evidence that both plant species possess a hitherto unknown aporphine alkaloid metabolic pathway. Specifically, RNA-seq transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics guided gene assemblies/analyses in silico suggested presence of transcripts homologous to genes encoding all known steps in aporphine alkaloid biosynthesis. A comprehensive metabolomics analysis, including UPLC-TOF-MS and MALDI-MS imaging in situ, then enabled detection, identification, localization and quantification of the aporphine alkaloids, magnoflorine, corytuberine and muricinine, in the underground and aerial tissues. Interestingly, the purported presence of alkaloids in Podophyllum species has been enigmatic since the 19th century, remaining unresolved until now. The evolutionary and phylogenetic ramifications of this discovery are discussed.

Nahuoic acids A-E (1-5) have been isolated from laboratory cultures of a Streptomyces sp. obtained from a tropical marine sediment. The structures of the new polyketides 2-5 were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data of the natural products and the chemical derivatives 6 and 7. Nahuoic acids 1-5 are in vitro inhibitors of the histone methyltransferase SETD8, and nahuoic acid A (1) and its pentaacetate derivative 8 inhibit the proliferation of several cancer cells lines in vitro with modest potency. At the IC50 for cancer cell proliferation, nahuoic acid A (1) showed selective inhibition of SETD8 in U2OS osteosarcoma cells that reflect its selectivity against a panel of pure histone methyl transferases. A cell cycle analysis revealed that the cellular toxicity of nahuoic acid A (1) is likely linked to its ability to inhibit SETD8 activity.

The antifungal spirocyclic guanidine alkaloid, ptilomycalin A, from marine sponge Monanchora arbuscula, inhibits melanogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans in vitro through inhibition of biosynthesis of laccase in the melanin biosynthetic pathway with an IC50 of 7.3 μM.

A fractional factorial design approach has been used to enhance secondary metabolite production by two Penicillium strains. The method was initially used to improve the production of bioactive extracts as a whole and subsequently to optimize the production of particular bioactive metabolites. Enhancements of over 500% in secondary metabolite production were observed for both P. oxalicum and P. citrinum. Two new alkaloids, citrinalins A (5) and B (6), were isolated and identified from P. citrinum cultures optimized for production of minor metabolites.

Two new omega-phenyl polyketide peroxides, plakinic acids K and L, were isolated from a two-sponge association of Plakortis halichondroides and Xestospongia deweerdtae. The absolute configurations of the remote dimethyl-branched stereocenters in plakinic acid K were assigned by degradation of plakinic acid K to a long-chain naphthamide and analysis by liposomal circular dichroism (L-CD) and comparison with synthetic standards.

© 2015 The American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy. An integrated omics approach using genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics (MALDI mass spectrometry imaging, MSI), and bioinformatics was employed to study spatiotemporal formation and deposition of health-protecting polymeric lignans and plant defense cyanogenic glucosides. Intact flax (Linum usitatissimum) capsules and seed tissues at different development stages were analyzed. Transcriptome analyses indicated distinct expression patterns of dirigent protein (DP) gene family members encoding (-)- and (+)-pinoresinol-forming DPs and their associated downstream metabolic processes, respectively, with the former expressed at early seed coat development stages. Genes encoding (+)-pinoresinol-forming DPs were, in contrast, expressed at later development stages. Recombinant DP expression and DP assays also unequivocally established their distinct stereoselective biochemical functions. Using MALDI MSI and ion mobility separation analyses, the pinoresinol downstream derivatives, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) and SDG hydroxymethylglutaryl ester, were localized and detectable only in early seed coat development stages. SDG derivatives were then converted into higher molecular weight phenolics during seed coat maturation. By contrast, the plant defense cyanogenic glucosides, the monoglucosides linamarin/lotaustralin, were detected throughout the flax capsule, whereas diglucosides linustatin/neolinustatin only accumulated in endosperm and embryo tissues. A putative biosynthetic pathway to the cyanogens is proposed on the basis of transcriptome coexpression data. Localization of all metabolites was at ca. 20 μm resolution, with the web based tool OpenMSI enabling not only resolution enhancement but also an interactive system for real-time searching for any ion in the tissue under analysis.

SummaryPadanamides are linear tetrapeptides notable for the absence of proteinogenic amino acids in their structures. In particular, two unusual heterocycles, (S)-3-amino-2-oxopyrrolidine-1-carboxamide (S-Aopc) and (S)-3-aminopiperidine-2,6-dione (S-Apd), are found at the C-termini of padanamides A and B, respectively. Here we identify the padanamide biosynthetic gene cluster and carry out systematic gene inactivation studies. Our results show that padanamides are synthesized by highly dissociated hybrid nonribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthase machinery. We further demonstrate that carbamoyltransferase gene padQ is critical to the formation of padanamide A but dispensable for biosynthesis of padanamide B. Biochemical investigations show that PadQ carbamoylates the rare biosynthetic precursor l-2,4-diaminobutyrate, generating l-2-amino-4-ureidobutyrate, the presumed precursor to the C-terminal residue of padanamide A. By contrast, the C-terminal residue of padanamide B may derive from glutamine. An unusual thioesterase-catalyzed cyclization is proposed to generate the S-Aopc/S-Apd heterocycles.

The histone lysine monomethyltransferase SETD8 is an epigenetic regulator of cell cycle progression. Nahuoic acid A (1), a polyketide produced in culture by a Streptomyces sp. obtained from a tropical marine sediment, is the first known selective SAM-competitive inhibitor of SETD8. The structure of nahuoic acid A (1) has been elucidated by chemical transformation and detailed analysis of spectroscopic data.

Two highly modified linear tetrapeptides, padanamides A (1) and B (2), are produced by laboratory cultures of a Streptomyces sp. obtained from a marine sediment. Padanamide B is cytotoxic to Jurkat cells, and a chemical genomics analysis using Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion mutants suggested that padanamide A inhibits cysteine and methionine biosynthesis or that these amino acids are involved in the yeast's response to the peptide.

Muironolide A, a new chemical entity with an unprecedented chlorinated hexahydro-1H-isoindolone skeleton, was isolated in only 90 μg yield from the same marine sponge, Phorbas sp. that also provide...

Isorhizochalin (1) was isolated as its peracetate from the EtOH extract of the sponge Rhizochalina incrustata. Its structure and absolute stereochemistry were elucidated as (2S,3R,26R,27R)-2,27-diamino-3-O-beta-D: -galactopyranosyl-oxy-26-hydroxyoctacosan-18-one by extensive NMR, MS studies, chemical transformations, including micromolar-scale Baeyer-Villiger oxidation, and by analysis of CD spectra of isorhizochalinin perbenzoate (2b). Isorhizochalin is an unprecedented C-2 epimer of rhizochalin having an erythro configuration at the glycosylated 2-amino-3-alkanol alpha-terminus in contrast with a canonical threo configuration for other representatives of this structural group. Probable biogenesis of 1 is discussed in the context of known sphingolipid biosynthesis beginning with condensation of alanine with a fatty acyl CoA thioester. The aglycone, isorhizochalinin (2a), shows cytotoxicity against human leukemia HL-60 and THP-1 cells with IC(50) values of 2.90 and 2.20 microM, respectively.

A synthesis providing totally synthetic (+)-hemi-phorboxazole A (1), proceeding in two steps (85% yield) from known vinyl iodide precursor (+)-2, has been achieved in conjunction with the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of two hemi-phorboxazole analogues [(+)-3 and (−)-4] featuring ring replacements inscribed within the macrolide. Although hemi-phorboxazole A (1) displayed no activity when tested against Candida albicans and two human cancer cell lines, analogue (−)-4 exhibited significant tumor cell growth inhibitory activity in the nanomolar range against HCT-116 (colon) and SK-BR-3 (breast), while (+)-3 displayed promising antifungal activity against C. albicans.

Hemi-phorboxazole A, a minor truncated analogue of phorboxazole A from the marine sponge Phorbas sp., was isolated in a total yield of 16.5 microg (28 nmol). The structure was elucidated by application of integrated nanomole-scale natural product techniques, including cryomicroprobe NMR, (1)H-coupled HSQC, and circular dichroism (CD).

A single specimen of Hexabranchus sanguineus, a nudibranch from the Indo-Pacific that is known to sequester kabiramides B and C and other trisoxazole macrolides, yielded new kabiramide analogues, 9-desmethylkbiramide B and 33-methyltetrahydrohalichondramide, and two new unexpected thiazole-containing cyclic peptides in submicromolar amounts. The structures of these cyclic peptides were determined by analyses of 1D and 2D NMR spectra recorded with a state-of-the-art 1 mm (1)H NMR high-temperature superconducting microcryoprobe, together with mass spectra. In addition to two proline residues, each peptide contains a thiazole- or oxazole-modified amino acid residue, together with conventional amino acid residues. All of the amino acid residues were l, as determined by Marfey's analysis of the acid hydrolysates of the peptides. This is the first report of cyclic thiazole peptides from H. sanguineus. Since thiazole-oxazole-modified peptides are typically associated with cyanobacteria and tunicates, the finding may imply a dietary component of the H. sanguineus that was previously overlooked.

This study demonstrates that attachment of the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata to the cellulose-containing surface of the green alga Ulva australis is mediated by a mannose-sensitive haemagglutinin (MSHA-like) pilus. We have identified an MSHA pilus biogenesis gene locus in P. tunicata, termed mshI1I2JKLMNEGFBACDOPQ, which shows significant homology, with respect to its genetic characteristics and organization, to the MSHA pilus biogenesis gene locus of Vibrio cholerae. Electron microscopy studies revealed that P. tunicata wild-type cells express flexible pili peritrichously arranged on the cell surface. A P. tunicata mutant (SM5) with a transposon insertion in the mshJ region displayed a non-piliated phenotype. Using SM5, it has been demonstrated that the MSHA pilus promotes attachment of P. tunicata wild-type cells in polystyrene microtitre plates, as well as to microcrystalline cellulose and to the living surface of U. australis. P. tunicata also demonstrated increased pilus production in response to cellulose and its monomer constituent cellobiose. The MSHA pilus thus functions as a determinant of attachment in P. tunicata, and it is proposed that an understanding of surface sensing mechanisms displayed by P. tunicata will provide insight into specific ecological interactions that occur between this bacterium and higher marine organisms.

Muironolide A, a new chemical entity with an unprecedented chlorinated hexahydro-1H-isoindolone skeleton, was isolated in only 90 microg yield from the same marine sponge, Phorbas sp. that also provided phorboxazoles A and B. The structure was solved by interpretation of NMR data obtained at 600 MHz with a 1.7 mm cryo-microprobe in combination with FTMS, exciton coupled CD, and stereochemical correlation with authentic standards prepared by Reformatsky reaction of (-)-(1R,2S)-2-chloro-1-cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde. The absolute configuration of the chlorocyclopropane ring in 1 is opposite to that of co-occurring phorbasides A-F. Muironolide A is the first described macrolide bearing an esterified trichloromethyl carbinol, and may be produced by a cyanobacterium that also makes phorbasides.

Representatives of the genus Streptomyces from terrestrial sources have been the focus of intensive research for the last four decades because of their prolific production of chemically diverse and biologically important compounds. However, metabolite research from this ecological niche had declined significantly in the past years because of the rediscovery of the same bioactive compounds and redundancy of the sample strains. More recently, a new picture has begun to emerge in which marine-derived Streptomyces bacteria have become the latest hot spot as new source for unique and biologically active compounds. Here, we investigated the marine sediments collected in the temperate cold waters from British Columbia, Canada as a valuable source for new groups of marine-derived Streptomyces with antimicrobial activities. We performed culture dependent isolation from 49 marine sediments samples and obtained 186 Streptomyces isolates, 47 of which exhibited antimicrobial activities. Phylogenetic analyses of the active isolates resulted in the identification of four different clusters of bioactive Streptomyces including a cluster with isolates that appear to represent novel species. Moreover, we explored whether these marine-derived Streptomyces produce new secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties. Chemical analyses revealed structurally diverse secondary metabolites, including four new antibacterial novobiocin analogues. We conducted structure-activity relationships (SAR) studies of these novobiocin analogues against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In this study, we revealed the importance of carbamoyl and OMe moieties at positions 3" and 4" of novobiose as well as the hydrogen substituent at position 5 of hydroxybenzoate ring for the anti-MRSA activity. Changes in the substituents at these positions dramatically impede or completely eliminate the inhibitory activity of novobiocins against MRSA.