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Abstract: Recently, acremolin (4), a novel modified base, was isolated from a marine-derived fungus and claimed to possess a structure with a 1H-azirine moiety. It is shown now that the reported NMR data are not compatible with this antiaromatic heterocycle, which should be an extremely unstable compound. An isomeric, substituted N 2,3-ethenoguanine is presented as a plausible alternative structure of acremolin that is consistent with all spectroscopic data. Thus, 1H-azirines keep their classification as very short-lived intermediates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Acremolin (1), a novel modified base, was isolated from the culture broth of the marine fungus Acremonium strictum. Based on combined spectroscopic analyses, the structure of this compound was that of a methyl guanine base containing an isoprene unit. In addition, the presence of a 1H-azirine moiety is unprecedented among natural products. This compound exhibited weak cytotoxicity against an A549 cell line. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]