Antimicrobial Metabolites from Extremophilic Fungus Botryotrichum piluliferum Strain WESH19

Abstract

Chromatographic analysis of a crude ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract derived from a solid rice culture incubated at 40°C to mimic the natural ecological niche of the extremophilic fungus Botryotrichum piluliferum strain WESH19 yielded a new natural butenolide compound (1) together with three known metabolites (2–4). Chemical structures of the isolated metabolites were confirmed by HR-ESI-MS along with 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1–3 revealed pronounced antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 700699), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), and Enterococcus faecium (ATCC 35667), while their antifungal activities were assessed against the extremophilic fungus Penicillium simplicissimum strain WSH17 (GenBank Acc. No. MN055685). This study adds another example of how extreme environmental conditions may influence secondary metabolism of the inhabiting fungi.