New Approaches for the Production of Secondary Metabolites by Marine-Derived Fungi

Abstract

The aim of this project is to explore the Brazilian marine microorganisms metabolome as a source of new bioactive compounds and to evaluate new approaches aiming to enhance or modify the secondary metabolites production by selected fungal strains.After cultivation of individual strains of marine fungi, these will be selected by biological evaluation and LC/MS dereplication. Secondary metabolites production of the selected species will be optimized via the use of small-molecule epigenetical modifiers in order to access to chemically enriched extracts. Afterwards the secondary metabolites will be isolated following a bioguided fractionation procedure. The structural determination process will involve comprehensive analysis of the compound's spectroscopic data (UV, IR, 1H and 13C NMR, in addition to bidimensional techniques). After identification, the biological activities of the pure compounds will be evaluated in three bioassays (antiviral, antileishmanial and anti-inflammatory).