Epigenetic Manipulation to Trigger Production of Guaiane-Type Sesquiterpenes from a Marine-Derived Spiromastix sp. Fungus with Antineuroinflammatory Effects.

Epigenetic manipulation of a deep-sea sediment-derived Spiromastix sp. fungus using suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) induction resulted in the activation of a terpene-related biosynthetic gene cluster, and nine new guaiane-type sesquiterpenes, spiromaterpenes A-I (1-9), were isolated. Their structures were determined using various spectroscopic techniques, in association with the modified Mosher's method, computed electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, and chemical conversion for configurational assignments. Compounds 4-6 exhibited significant effects against the NO production on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglia cells BV2, and the preliminary SAR analyses demonstrated that a 2(R),11-diol unit is favorable. The most active 5 abolished LPS-induced NF-κB translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus in BV-2 microglial cells, accompanied by the marked reduction of the transcription levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α dose-dependently in both LPS-induced BV-2 and BV-2 cells, as well as the protein and mRNA levels of iNOS and COX-2. This study complements the gap in knowledge regarding the anti-neuroinflammatory activity of guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids at the cellular level and suggests that 5 is promising for further optimization as a multifunctional agent for antineuroinflammation.

Drechmeria panacis sp. nov., an endophyte isolated from Panax notoginseng.

An endophytic strain (designated as strain SYPF 8335T) was isolated from a root of Panax notoginseng in Wenshan district, Yunnan province of China. Strain SYPF 8335T grew very slowly and formed white colonies. Phylogenetic analysis of four loci indicated that strain SYPF 8335T was placed in the Drechmeria clade with Drechmeria campanulata as its closest phylogenetic neighbour. The nucleotide differences between strain SYPF 8335T and D. campanulata are 30 substitutions in the internal transcriber region region. A key morphological feature that differentiates the two fungi is that D. campanulata produces campanulate conidia. Combined with the morphology and molecular analyses, a new species named Drechmeria panacis sp. nov., is proposed.