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We report a mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics study of a laboratory-cultured strain of Microcystis aeruginosa (UTEX LB2385), which has led to the discovery of five peptides (1–5) belonging to the microginin class of linear cyanopeptides. The structures and configurations of these peptides were determined by spectroscopic analyses and chemical derivitization. The microginin peptides described herein are the first reported derivatives containing N-methyl methionine (1, 5) and N-methyl methionine sulfoxide (2–4). The two tripeptide microginin analogues (4, 5) identified represent the smallest members of this peptide family. Their angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity was also investigated. Microginin 527 (4) was the most potent of the group, with an IC50 of 31 μM.

The methanol extract of Melochia odorata yielded three 4-quinolone alkaloids including waltherione A (1) and two new alkaloids, waltherione C (2) and waltherione D (3). Waltheriones A and C showed significant activities in an in vitro anti-HIV cytoprotection assay at concentrations of 56.2 and 0.84 μM, and inhibition of HIV P24 formation of more than 50% at 1.7 and 0.95 μM, respectively. The structures of the alkaloids were established by spectroscopic data interpretation.

As part of our screening for anti-HIV agents from marine invertebrates, the MeOH extract of Didemnum molle was tested and showed moderate in vitro anti-HIV activity. Bioassay-guided fractionation of a large-scale extract allowed the identification of two new cyclopeptides, mollamides E and F (1 and 2), and one new tris-phenethyl urea, molleurea A (3). The absolute configurations were established using the advanced Marfey's method. The three compounds were evaluated for anti-HIV activity in both an HIV integrase inhibition assay and a cytoprotective cell-based assay. Compound 2 was active in both assays with IC(50) values of 39 and 78 μM, respectively. Compound 3 was active only in the cytoprotective cell-based assay, with an IC(50) value of 60 μM.

The novel gymnodimine congener 12-methylgymnodimine was isolated from the dinoflagellate Alexandrium peruvianum from the New River in North Carolina. In addition, the presence of 13-desmethylspirolide C was confirmed by NMR characterization. This marks the first time these two classes of cyclic imines have been found in the same organism, providing further evidence for a direct genetic relationship between the biosynthetic pathways for gymnodimines and spirolides suggested by comparison of their structures.

Four new tris-bromoindole cyclic guanidine alkaloids, araiosamines A-D, were isolated from the methanol extract of a marine sponge, Clathria (Thalysias) araiosa, collected from Vanuatu. Their carbon skeletons delineate a new class of indole alkaloids apparently derived from a linear polymerization process involving a carbon-carbon bond formation. Comparison of the structures including the relative configurations suggests a common intermediate containing a dihydroaminopyrimidine moiety capable of undergoing various modalities of conjugate addition to yield unprecedented ring systems.

The dinoflagellate Karenia brevis is known for the production of brevetoxins, a family of polycyclic ether toxins, as well as their antagonist brevenal. Further examination of organic extracts of K. brevis has uncovered yet another unprecedented cyclic ether alkaloid named brevisamide. This report describes the structure elucidation of brevisamide based on detailed MS and NMR spectral analysis, and the importance of this new compound in shedding light on the biogenesis of fused polyethers is discussed.

The biogenetic origin of the carbon atoms in the 2-azaanthraquinone scorpinone ( 1), produced by the rare fungus Amorosia littoralis isolated from marine sediment, was explored through isotopic enrichment studies utilizing [2- (13)C]-acetate and [1,2- (13)C]-acetate. The labeling results reveal a heptaketide precursor is involved in the biosynthesis of 1, as has been found for the structurally related naphthoquinone dihydrofusarubin. The previously identified naphthoquinone herbarin ( 2) was also isolated and appears to bear the same biogenetic relationship to 1 as the fusarubins do to the fungal 2-azaanthraquinone bostrycoidins.

By means of bioassay-guided fractionation, a new steroidal alkaloid, plakinamine M (1), and the known compound, plakinamine L (2), with a unique acyclic side chain, were isolated from the marine sponge Corticium sp. collected from New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The structures were determined on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS. The two compounds showed inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with MIC values of 15.8 and 3.6 μg/mL, respectively.

The discovery of brevisin, the first example of an “interrupted” polycyclic ether, obtained from the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, posed some important questions regarding the mechanism of the cyclization process. Consequently, we have established absolute configurations of brevisin and its related metabolite brevisamide using a modified Mosher's esterification method. For brevisin, analysis was carried out on both the 31-monokis- and the 10,31-bis-MTPA esters. The results suggest that both metabolites, like other polyethers from K. brevis, result from polyepoxide precursors with uniform (S, S) configurations for all epoxides, and provide further support for a universal stereochemical model for dinoflagellate polyether formation.

An antimalarial screen for plants collected from Papua New Guinea identified an extract of Horsfieldia spicata as having activity. Isolation of the active constituents led to the identification of two new compounds: myristicyclins A (1) and B (2). Both compounds are procyanidin-like congeners of myristinins lacking a pendant aromatic ring. Myristicyclin A was found to inhibit the ring, trophozoite, and schizont stages of Plasmodium falciparum at similar concentrations in the mid-μM range.

Two known papuamides C ( 1 ) and D ( 2 ) together with two new depsipeptides, papuamides E ( 3 ) and F ( 4 ), were isolated from an undescribed sponge of the genus Melophlus collected in the Solomon Islands. The planar structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Papuamides C–F ( 1 – 4 ) showed cytotoxicity against brine shrimp with LD 50 values between 92 and 106 μg/mL.

Two new triterpenoids were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Rhus taitensis. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies as 1,10,24,25,30-pentahydroxysqualene and dammar-20(22),24-diene-3 β,26,27-triol. Both compounds exhibited moderate antimycobacterial activities with an MIC of 45 µg/mL.

Four new depsipeptides, mirabamides E-H (1-4), and the known depsipeptide mirabamide C (5) have been isolated from the sponge Stelletta clavosa, collected from the Torres Strait. The planar structures were determined on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS. The absolute configurations were established by the advanced Marfey's method, NMR, and GC-MS. The four new compounds all showed strong inhibition of HIV-1 in a neutralization assay with IC(50) values of 121, 62, 68, and 41 nM, respectively.

A new fascaplysin analogue, 3-bromohomofascaplysin A (1), along with two known analogues, homofascaplysin A (2) and fascaplysin (3), were isolated from a Fijian Didemnum sp. ascidian. The absolute configurations of 3-bromohomofascaplysin A (1) and homofascaplysin A (2) were determined via experimental and theoretically calculated ECD spectra. The differential activities of 1–3 against different blood-borne life stages of the malaria pathogen Plasmodium falciparum were assessed. Homofascaplysin A (2) displayed an IC50 of 0.55 ± 0.11 nM against ring stage parasites and 105 ± 38 nM against all live parasites. Given the stronger resistance of ring stage parasites against most current antimalarials relative to the other blood stages, homofascaplysin A (2) represents a promising agent for treatment of drug resistant malaria.

Amphidinol 17 (AM17; 1), a novel amphidinol, has been isolated from a Bahamas strain of Amphidinium carterae. This new congener contains the signature hairpin region and a Delta(6) polyene arm, whereas the polyol arm is distinct from those of other amphidinols. The pattern of acetate incorporation in 1 was directly determined by feeding a single labeled substrate, [2-(13)C]acetate. While the highly conserved regions within the amphidinol family of AM17 have exhibited identical occurrences of cleaved acetates to other amphidinols for which the biosynthesis has been explored, the polyol arm for AM17 displays a higher degree of nascent chain processing that shows similarities to amphidinolide biosynthesis. AM17 exhibited an EC(50) of 4.9 microM in a hemolytic assay using human red blood cells but displayed no detectable antifungal activity.

Since 1980, over a dozen novel brominated alkaloids, named flustramines, have been isolated from Scandinavian and Canadian collections of the marine bryozoan Flustra foliacea. This paper describes the reisolation of the known compound dihydroflustramine C (1) and the isolation of 11 new flustramines (2-4, 6-13), including two dimers (12, 13) that may be isolation artifacts. Together these compounds, some with an unexpected aryl substitution pattern, reveal an intricate network of metabolites present in the extracts of the bryozoan. The structures of these metabolites were solved using a variety of spectroscopic techniques and chemical derivatization and modification. This work also led to the recognition of an unusual rearrangement reaction that occurred slowly over a number of years.

Brevisin is an unprecedented polycyclic ether isolated from the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, an organism well-known to produce complex polycyclic ethers. The structure of brevisin was determined by detailed analyses of MS and 2D NMR spectra and is remarkable in that it consists of two separate fused polyether ring assemblies linked by a methylene group. One of the polycyclic moieties contains a conjugated aldehyde side chain similar to that recently observed in other K. brevis metabolites, though the "interrupted" polyether structure of brevisin is novel and provides further insight into the biogenesis of such fused-ring polyether systems. On the basis of the unusual structure of brevisin, principles underlying the initiation of polyether assemblies are proposed. Brevisin was found to inhibit the binding of [(3)H]-PbTx-3 to its binding site on the voltage-sensitive sodium channels in rat brain synaptosomes.

The karlotoxins (KmTxs) are a family of compounds produced by the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum that cause membrane permeabilization. The structure of KmTx 1, determined using extensive 2D NMR spectroscopy, is very similar to the amphidinols and related compounds, though KmTx 1 features unique structural modifications of the conserved core region. The structure of KmTx 1 differs from that reported for KmTx 2, the only other reported karlotoxin to date, in lacking chlorination at its terminal alkene and possessing a hydrophobic arm that is two carbons longer.

Covering: up to 2013 Dinoflagellates produce unique polyketides characterized by their size and complexity. The biosynthesis of a limited number of such metabolites has been reported, with studies largely hampered by the low yield of compounds and the severe scrambling of label in the isotopically-labeled precursors. Nonetheless, of the successful biosynthetic experiments that have been reported, many surprising and unique processes have been discovered. This knowledge has been accessed through a series of biochemical labeling studies, and while limited molecular genetic data has been amassed, it is still in the early stages of development. In an attempt to meet this challenge, this review has compared some of the biosynthetic processes with similar ones identified in other microbes such as bacteria and myxobacteria, with the idea that similar genes and enzymes are employed by dinoflagellates.

The MeOH extract of an Indonesia Eudistoma sp. ascidian contained 1,3,O(7)-trimethylisoxanthopterin (1), a novel pteridine. The purification of 1 was achieved through flash C(18) chromatography and cyano HPLC. The structure was determined primarily through the use of (1)H-(13)C and (1)H-(15)N HMBC measurements and comparison with data obtained for 1,3,7-trimethylguanine (2).

Two ring-A-aromatized bile acids, 1 and 2, were isolated from the sponge Sollasella moretonensis, collected from the seabed of northern Queensland. Structures were assigned on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR studies, as well as analysis by HRESIMS. Compound 2 has previously been produced synthetically, though this marks its first isolation from a natural source.