Antiinsectan Natural Products from Fungal Sclerotia

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Chemical studies of secondary metabollities from fungal sclerotia will be studied. Sclerotia are key physiological structures vital to the survival and propagation of many fungal species. Ecological considerations and circumstantial evidence suggest that sclerotia may contain new antiinsectan metabolites not found in other fungal tissues. The occurrence of sclerotial metabolites that deter feeding by fungivorous insects would be very significant to fungal chemical ecology. Sclerotial extracts will be tested for effects against both ecologically relevant and agriculturally important insects. A pool of antiinsectan extracts is already available. Active metabolites will be isolated by chromatographic methods, and identified using modern spectroscopic techniques. Experiments will be performed to determine whether these compounds are concentrated in the sclerotia. Investigations will also be extended to include related fungal bodies (i.e., ascostromata). These studies will provide insight into fundamentally significant, rarely-studied aspects of fungal secondary metabolism, and will permit further exploration of this unique source of new antiinsectan natural products. %% With this award, the Organic Synthesis Program will support the research of Dr. James B. Gloer at the University of Iowa. Dr. Gloer will focus his research on a specialized tissue structure of fungi, the sclerotia, as a source of new natural products that may have antiinsectan activity. This has the potential to benefit research in biochemistry and agriculture as well as in the chemical industry.