Marine organisms have proven to be a valuable source of modified purine bases and nucleosides. A number of methylated guanine or isoguanine derivatives have been reported from marine sponges [1][2][3][4] and also from some ascidians.
5-7)In our continuing search for new bioactive marine natural products, we have isolated a new purine base from a Philippine sponge, Zyzzya fuliginosa (CARTER, 1879), together with the known metabolites makaluvamines A (2), C (3), and K (4) as well as 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (5), methyl ester of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (6), 4-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol (7), L-phenylalanine (8) and L-tryptophan (9). In this paper, we describe the isolation and characterization of the new compound, 3,7-dimethylguanine (1). Compound 1 was isolated as an amorphous white powder. N-9) suggested that the second methyl group resided on the imidazole ring, either on N-7 or N-9. Crucial long range 1 H-13 C couplings from this methyl group to C-8 (d 145.3), C-5 (d 110.5), and C-6 (d 154.6) unambiguously located it at N-7. The latter correlation (N-7-CH 3 /C-6) was also indicative of a guanine ring. Distinction between the two possible structures, 3,7-dimethylguanine (1) and 3,7-dimethylisoguanine (10) was made by MS. The fragmentation patterns of methylated purines have been investigated. 8,9) The initial expulsion of neutral cyanamide fragments consisting of N-1, C-2, and their attached substituents is a very characteristic fragmentation of the molecular ion peak of these compounds. Since guanines contain an imino substituent and isoguanines have an oxygen substitution at the C-2 position, they can be easily distinguished by EI-MS due to a one mass-unit difference.1,3) Thus, 1 showed a diagnostic ion at m/z 137.0595 due to loss of CH 2 N 2 (m/z 42) via a retro-Diels-Alder pathway. The positive mode tandem ESI- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. A new purine 3,7-dimethylguanine (1) has been isolated from the marine sponge Zyzzya fuliginosa, along with the known metabolites, makaluvamines A, C, K (2-4), 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (5), methyl ester of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (6), 4-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol (7), L-phenylalanine (8) and L-tryptophan (9). The structure of 3,7-dimethylguanine (1) was elucidated by analysis of 1D and 2D (one-and two-dimensional) NMR [HMQC (heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence), gHMBC (heteronuclear multiple bond connectivity), 1 H-15 N gHMBC] data, mass spectroscopy data, and by comparison with 3,7-dimethylisoguanine (10).