terpestacin and fusaproliferin

Herbivorous mammal dung supports a large variety of fimicolous fungi able to produce different bioactive secondary metabolites to compete with other organisms. Recently, the organic extracts of the Solid State Fermentation (SSF) cultures of Cleistothelebolus nipigonensis and Neogymnomyces virgineus, showing strong antifungal activity, were preliminarily investigated. This manuscript reports the isolation of the main metabolites identified, using spectroscopic and optical methods, as fusaproliferin (1) and terpestacin (2). Furthermore, some key hemisynthetic derivatives were prepared and their antifungal activity was tested against the same fungi previously reported to be affected by the organic extracts obtained from SSF. These metabolites and their derivatives resulted able to reduce the growth of Alternaria brassicicola, Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium graminearum in a variable extent strongly dependent from chemical modifications and test fungi. The hydroxy enolic group at C(17) appeared to be a structural feature important to impart activity. This study represents the first report of these secondary metabolites produced by C. nipigonensis and N. virgineus.

Topics: Allelopathy; Alternaria; Antifungal Agents; Botrytis; Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fusarium; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Conformation; Structure-Activity Relationship; Terpenes

(-)-Terpestacin (1, naturally occurring enantiomer) and (+)-11-epi-terpestacin (2) were prepared using catalyst-controlled, stereoselective, intermolecular reductive coupling reactions of alkyne 9 and aldehyde 10, affording allylic alcohols 42 or 11-epi-42 in a 3:1 ratio (or 1:3 depending on the enantiomer of ligand 41a used). These stereoselective fragment couplings were instrumental in confirming that "siccanol" is not 11-epi-terpestacin but, in fact, is (-)-terpestacin itself. Several intramolecular alkyne-aldehyde reductive coupling approaches to 1 and 2 were also investigated and are discussed herein.

Topics: Aldehydes; Alkynes; Ascomycota; Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; Cyclization; Silanes; Stereoisomerism; Terpenes

An enantioselective synthesis of the syncytium formation inhibitor (-)-terpestacin (1, 19 steps, 5.8% yield from the allylation product of (R,R)-pseudoephedrine propionamide, 3) and the fungal metabolite (-)-fusaproliferin (2, 21 steps, 5.3% yield from 3) in their natural configurations is described. The route employs a series of stereoselective enolate alkylation reactions to establish the initial stereogenic center, set the quaternary carbon configuration, close the 15-membered ring, and introduce the side-chain residue with proper stereocontrol. Careful analysis of our synthetic materials alongside natural samples has revealed that several errors were made in the earlier measurements of optical rotation or in the absolute stereochemical assignments of these natural products. Clarifying all discrepancies, we show here that natural terpestacin (1) is levorotatory, not dextrorotatory as originally described, but was correctly assigned as the (1S,11S,15R,23S)-enantiomer. Fusaproliferin (2) is levorotatory, as reported, but is in fact the (1S,11S,15R,23S)-enantiomer and not the antipodal configuration originally assigned.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; Molecular Conformation; Stereoisomerism; Terpenes