Five new preussomerin analogues, ymf 1029A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), and E (5), were isolated from the liquid cultures of an unidentified freshwater fungus YMF 1.01029, along with four known compounds, preussomerin C (6), preussomerin D (7), (4RS)-4,8-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one (8), and 4,6,8-trihydroxy-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one (9). The structures of new metabolites were determined by analysis of NMR and MS data and by analogy with the data for the known bis-spirobisnaphthalene preussomerins. In vitro immersion experiments showed that these metabolites displayed weak nematicidal activity against Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, while compound 7 was the most potent. This is the first report of these compounds, which antagonize the Bursaphelenchus xylophilus nematode.

Three new naphthoquinones, astropaquinones A-C (1-3), were isolated from cultures of the freshwater fungus Astrosphaeriella papuana YMF 1.01181, together with the known compound, 6-hydroxy-2,4-dimethoxy-7-methylanthraquinone (4). The structures of the compounds were settled mainly by interpretation of their 1D and 2D NMR spectra. Astropaquinone B (2) and C (3) were found to possess a rare pyranonaphthoquinone skeleton containing a lactol ring. Furthermore, compounds 1-4 showed moderate antagonistic activity against nine fungi and four bacterial strains.

BackgroundEurytrema pancreaticum is one of the most common flukes, which mainly infects ruminants globally and infects human beings accidentally; causing eurytremiasis that has high veterinary and economic importance. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs and are now considered as a key mechanism of gene regulation at the post-transcription level.MethodsWe investigated the global miRNA expression profile of E. pancreaticum adults using next-generation sequencing technology combined with real-time quantitative PCR.ResultsBy using the genome of the closely-related species Schistosoma japonicum as reference, we obtained 27 miRNA candidates out of 16.45 million raw sequencing reads, with 13 of them found as known miRNAs in S. japonicum and/or S. mansoni, and the remaining 14 miRNAs were considered as novel. Five out of the 13 known miRNAs coming from one family named as sja-miR-2, including family members from miR-2a to miR-2e. Targets of 19 miRNAs were successfully predicated out of the 17401 mRNA and EST non-redundant sequences of S. japonicum. It was found that a significant high number of targets were related to “chch domain-containing protein mitochondrial precursor” (n = 29), “small subunit ribosomal protein s30e” (n = 21), and “insulin-induced gene 1 protein” (n = 9). Besides, “egg protein cp3842” (n = 2), “fumarate hydratase” (n = 2), “ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme” (n = 2), and “sperm-associated antigen 6” (n = 1) were also found as targets of the miRNAs of E. pancreaticum.ConclusionsThe present study represents the first global characterization of E. pancreaticum miRNAs, which provides novel resources for a better understanding of the parasite, which, in turn, has implications for the effective control of the disease it causes.

The EtOAc extracts of cultural filtrates of 30 freshwater fungi were assayed for the in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus YMF 3.19, Brevibacillus laterosporus YMF 3.08, Escherichia coli YMF 3.16, Staphylococcus aureus YMF 3.17 using the disc diffusion method. A total of 14 fungal strains displayed active against all of the bacteria tested and the strongest antibacterial activity was recorded in Camposporium quercicola YMF1.01300 isolate. Extraction of fermentation broth of C. quercicola YMF1.01300 and various separation and purification steps led to isolation of three pure active molecules. The chemical structures of these three compounds, a new diphenyl ether, named as quercilolin (compound 1), as well as two previously known compounds, tenellic acid A (compound 2), and 2',4'-dihydroxyacetophenone (compound 3), were established by analysis of NMR and MS data, and by comparison with reference data from the literature. These results indicate that some freshwater fungi could be a potential source of antibacterial agents.