The myxobacterial strain Nannocystis pusilla B150 synthesizes the structurally new polyketides phenylnannolone A–C. Apart from some common volatiles and siderophores, these are the first natural products from the genus Nannocystis. Phenylnannolone A shows inhibitory activity towards the ABCB1 gene product P-glycoprotein and reverses daunorubicin resistance in cancer cells. To decipher the biochemical reactions leading to the formation of phenylnannolone A, the putative biosynthetic genes were identified (phn1, phn2). Phn2 is a polyketide synthase (PKS) with an NRPS-like loading module, and its domain order is consistent with the phenylnannolone A structure. The functionality and substrate selectivity of the loading module were determined by means of a γ-¹⁸O₄-ATP pyrophosphate exchange and a phosphopantetheine ejection assay. A specific activation of cinnamic acid by the AMP-ligase was detected. Phn1 is a putative butyryl-CoA carboxylase (BCC), providing ethylmalonyl-CoA for the formation of the ethyl-substituted part of phenylnannolone A. Phn1 is the first BCC found in biosynthetic genes for an ethyl-substituted natural compound. Biosynthesis of phenylnannolone A, putatively encoded by phn1 and phn2, thus utilizes the first biosynthetic machinery in which both a BCC and a PKS are involved.

Marine myxobacteria (Enhygromyxa, Plesiocystis, Pseudoenhygromyxa, Haliangium) are phylogenetically distant from their terrestrial counterparts. Salimabromide is the first natural product from the Plesiocystis/Enhygromyxa clade of obligatory marine myxobacteria. Salimabromide has a new tetracyclic carbon skeleton, comprising a brominated benzene ring, a furano lactone residue, and a cyclohexane ring, bridged by a seven-membered cyclic moiety. The absolute configuration was deduced from experimental and calculated CD data. Salimabromide revealed antibiotic activity towards Arthrobacter cristallopoietes.

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts, marine myxobacteria are hardly investigated for their secondary metabolites. This study describes three new compounds (1–3), named salimyxins and enhygrolides, obtained from the obligate marine myxobacterium Enhygromyxa salina. These are the first natural products obtained from Enhygromyxa species. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, including NMR and CD spectroscopy. Enhygrolides are closely related to the nostoclides, which were initially isolated from a cyanobacterium of the genus Nostoc. The salimyxins, representing structurally most unusual degraded sterols, are close to identical to demethylincisterol from the sponge Homaxinella sp. Salimyxin B and enhygrolide A inhibit the growth of the Gram-positive bacterium Arthrobacter cristallopoietes (MIC salimyxin B, 8 μg mL⁻¹; enhygrolide A, 4 μg mL⁻¹).

The fungus Coniothyrium cereale was isolated from the Baltic Sea alga Enteromorpha sp. Upon cultivation in saline medium, C. cereale produced the structurally unprecedented isoindole pseudoalkaloid conioimide (1) and the polyketide cereoanhydride (2). Because of the very limited amount of compounds isolated, the structures of 1 and 2 were established from extensive NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses, and in the case of 1, the structural analysis was completed by NMR shielding calculations. Conioimide and cereoanhydride represent new structural types of polyketides. Experiments with ¹³C-labeled acetate proved the polyketide nature of the major and known C. cereale metabolite (–)-trypethelone (3), which is proposed to be the precursor of cereoanhydride. Conioimide has prominent and selective inhibitory activity towards the protease human leukocyte elastase (HLE), an enzyme involved in many inflammatory diseases, with an IC₅₀ (half maximal inhibitory concentration) value of 0.2 μg mL^–1.

A marine-derived fungus of the genus Stachylidium was isolated from the sponge Callyspongia cf. C. flammea. Chemical investigation of the bioactive fungal extract led to the isolation of the novel phthalimidine derivatives marilines A₁ (1 a), A₂ (1 b), B (2), and C (3). The absolute configurations of the enantiomeric compounds 1 a and 1 b were assigned by a combination of experimental circular dichroism (CD) investigations and quantum chemical CD calculations. The skeleton of marilines is most unusual, and its biosynthesis is suggested to require uncommon biochemical reactions in fungal secondary metabolism. Both enantiomers, marilines A₁ (1 a) and A₂ (1 b), inhibited human leukocyte elastase (HLE) with an IC₅₀ value of 0.86 μM.

An unusual natural product (dotofide, 1), in which the terpenoid skeleton is interrupted by a guanidine moiety was obtained from the marine slug Doto pinnatifida. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was deduced by ozonolysis and subsequent CD spectroscopy. D. pinnatifida subsists on the hydrozoan Nemertesia antennina (Cnidaria), which however does not contain dotofide, suggesting that the snail is able to perform the biosynthesis of the metabolite by itself. D. pinnatifida is grouped into the chemically hardly investigated taxon Cladobranchia (Opisthobranchia, Gastropoda). All members of this taxon completely lack a shell and are thought to employ toxic secondary metabolites or alternatively cnidocysts sequestered from their cnidarian prey organism as defence strategy.

Corallopyronin A is a myxobacterial compound with potent antibacterial activity. Feeding experiments with labelled precursors resulted in the deduction of all biosynthetic building blocks for corallopyronin A and revealed an unusual feature of this metabolite: its biosynthesis from two chains, one solely PKS-derived and the other NRPS/PKS-derived. The starter molecule is believed to be carbonic acid or its monomethyl ester. The putative corallopyronin A biosynthetic gene cluster is a trans-AT-type mixed PKS/NRPS gene cluster, containing a β-branching cassette. Striking features of this gene cluster are a NRPS-like adenylation domain that is part of a PKS-type module and is believed to be responsible for glycine incorporation, as well as split modules with individual domains occurring on different genes. It is suggested that CorB is a trans-acting ketosynthase and it is proposed that it catalyses the Claisen condensation responsible for the interconnection of the two chains. Additionally, the stereochemistry of corallopyronin A was deduced by a combination of a modified Mosher's method and ozonolysis with subsequent chiral GC analyses.

The cyclic dodecapeptides tychonamide A (1) and B (2) isolated from the methanolic extract of the cyanobacterium Tychonema sp. contain the novel β-amino acid 3-amino-2,5,7-trihydroxy-8-phenyloctanoic acid (Atpoa). Compounds 1 and 2 have cytotoxic activity towards cancer cell linesin a monolayer assay with mean IC₅₀ values of 0.9 and 3.3 μg mL^–1, respectively. Compound 2 was shown to be active against tumor cell suspensions derived fromsolid tumor xenografts in a clonogenic assay (mean IC₅₀ 2.4 μg mL^–1). Additionally, antiprotozoal activity was observed (Trypanosoma b. rhodesiense, IC₅₀ 0.1 μg mL^–1) for compound 1. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)

Chemical investigations of the cytotoxic extract of the marine fungus Curvularia sp. (strain no. 768), isolated from the red alga Acanthophora spicifera, yielded the novel macrolide apralactone A (1), as well as the antipodes of curvularin macrolides 2–7. Compound 8, a dimeric curvularin was recognised as an artefact. The structures of 1–8 were elucidated by interpretation of their spectroscopic data (1D and 2D NMR, CD, MS, UV and IR). Apralactone A (1) is a 14-membered phenyl acetic acid macrolactone, and the first such compound with a 4-chromanone substructure. Compounds 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were found to be cytotoxic towards human tumor cell lines with mean IC₅₀ values in the range of 1.25 to 30.06 μM. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)

Eight new cyanopeptolins (insulapeptolides A–H) were obtained from the cyanobacterium Nostoc insulare. Their isolation was guided by their bioactivity toward the target enzyme human leukocyte elastase, molecular biological investigations, and MALDI-TOF analysis. These peptides are selective inhibitors of human leukocyte elastase with activities in the nanomolar range. Insulapeptolide D (4) was the most potent compound with an IC₅₀ value of 85 nM (K_i value of 36 nM).