Isolation of a novel polyketide from neodidymelliopsis sp.

Abstract

Fungi have become an invaluable source of bioactive natural products, with more than 5 million species of fungi spanning the globe. Fractionation of crude extract of Neodidymelliopsis sp., led to the isolation of a novel polyketide, (2Z)‐cillifuranone (1) and five previously reported natural products, (2E)‐cillifuranone (2), taiwapyrone (3), xylariolide D (4), pachybasin (5), and N‐(5‐ hydroxypentyl)acetamide (6). It was discovered that (2Z)‐cillifuranone (1) was particularly sensitive to ambient temperature and light resulting in isomerisation to (2E)‐cillifuranone (2). Structure elucidation of all the natural products were conducted by NMR spectroscopic techniques. The antimicrobial activity of 2, 3, and 5 were evaluated against a variety of bacterial and fungal pathogens. A sodium [1‐13C] acetate labelling study was conducted on Neodidymelliopsis sp. and confirmed that pachybasin is biosynthesised through the acetate polyketide pathway.