Molecular phylogeny of Hypoxylon and closely related genera

Phylogenetic relationships were inferred among several xylariaceous genera with Nodulisporium or nodulisporium-like anamorphs based on the analyses of beta-tubulin and alpha-actin sequences. One hundred nine cultures and three specimens of 83 representatives of these four genera were included in the study. Biscogniauxia taxa formed a well supported clade that was basal to the other taxa, while taxa of Hypoxylon and Daldinia comprised a large monophyletic group that contained two subclades. The first subclade encompassed Hypoxylon sect. Annulata and is accepted here as the new genus Annulohypoxylon. The second subclade contained taxa of Hypoxylon sect. Hypoxylon and Daldinia. Hypoxylon is restricted to include only those taxa in sect. Hypoxylon. Thirty-three epithets are made in Annulohypoxylon. Hypoxylon cohaerens var. microsporum is raised to the species level and accepted as A. minutellum. Hypoxylon polyporoideum is recognized as distinct from H. crocopeplum. Hypoxylon placentiforme is accepted as Daldinia placentiformis.     

Cohaerins A and B, azaphilones from the fungus Hypoxylon cohaerens, and comparison of HPLC-based metabolite profiles in Hypoxylon sect. Annulata

Azaphilones, named cohaerins A and B were isolated from stromata of the xylariaceous ascomycete Hypoxylon cohaerens. Their absolute structures were determined by spectroscopic methods (2D NMR, MS, IR, UV CD), and subsequently confirmed by acetylation. Stromatal metabolite profiles of several taxa of Hypoxylon sect. Annulata were also generated using analytical HPLC with diode array and MS detection. The cohaerins were neither found in other Hypoxylon spp., nor in other Xylariaceae. However, they were present even in holotype material of H. cohaerens, collected over 200 years ago. The binaphthalene BNT was also omnipresent in sect Annulata, and its derivatives, the benzo[j]fluoranthenes daldinone A and truncatone, as well as presumably related compounds. These fungi were found devoid of other types of azaphilone pigments of the Xylariaceae, such as mitorubrins and daldinins, the latter of which are widespread in certain groups of Hypoxylon sect. Hypoxylon. Hence, chemotaxonomic data largely support the current generic concept. The original source of truncatone was identified as Hypoxylon annulatum.     

New Hypoxylon and Nemania species from Costa Rica and Taiwan

Six xylariaceous fungi, including two Hypoxylon taxa and four Nemania taxa, are described as new. They were collected from either Costa Rica or Taiwan. Two of the Nemania species--N. flavitextura and N. primolutea--were cultured and typical Geniculosporium anamorphs were produced.     

香灰菌黑色素的分离及抗氧化活性研究

从香灰菌中分离得到黑色素,其产量为33.01%。经紫外/可见扫描和红外光谱分析,显示香灰菌黑色素同合成黑色素具有基本一致的化学结构。通过检测抗氧化剂抑制5-硫代-(2-硝基苯甲酸)(TNB)被氧化程度,比较香灰菌黑色素同合成黑色素及Vc的抗氧化活性,结果表明,香灰菌黑色素抗氧化能力强于Vc,略低于合成黑色素。     

Hypoxylon deustum: The chromosome number

Summary The haploid chromosome number ofHypoxylon deustum is 4. Ascospores are uninucleate when formed, becoming binucleate shortly thereafter. One of the two nuclei disappears in maturing ascospores. Mature ascospores are apparently uninucleate. The significance of these and other findings to the taxonomy of the fungus is discussed.Scientific Paper No. 3008. College of Agriculture, Washington State University. Project 3767.This study was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant GB-5219.     

炭团菌提取物对樟子松枯梢病菌的抑菌活性及稳定性

摘要 【目的】获得炭团菌液体培养菌液中高效抑制樟子松枯梢病菌的活性物质。【方法】炭团菌液体培养菌液中活性物质的提取采用水提和酯提2种方式。水提方式采用直接提取法和超声波提取法2种方法,酯提方式选择正丁醇、乙酸乙酯、乙醇3种萃取剂。各提取物对病原菌的抑菌活性研究选用菌丝生长抑制率和孢子萌发抑制率2个指标,对病原菌菌丝生长的抑制测定采用生长速率法,对病原菌孢子萌发的抑制试验采用悬滴法。炭团菌液体培养菌液乙酸乙酯提取物稳定性的研究选用紫外线、温度、pH值、氧化剂与还原剂以及贮存时间5个因子。乙酸乙酯提取物中抑菌活性成分的分离采用柱层析、纯化采用薄层层析、结构鉴定采用紫外光谱（UV）、红外光谱（IR）、气质联用（GC-MS）和核磁共振（NMR）等分析测试技术。【结果】炭团菌液体培养菌液5种提取物对樟子松枯梢病菌均有一定的抑菌活性,其中乙酸乙酯提取物对病原菌菌丝生长的抑制率最高,达到73.20%;乙酸乙酯提取物、超声波提取物、正丁醇提取物对病原菌孢子萌发抑制率均超过90%。乙酸乙酯提取物对自然环境下的紫外线、温度具有很高的稳定性,并且具有一定的抗氧化还原能力和良好的耐热性,长期贮存不影响其抑菌活性。乙酸乙酯提取物中有3个组分,组分I的抑菌率最高（72.94%）。组分I含3种化合物,其中得率最高（57.952%）的为对甲氧基肉桂酸甲酯,化学式为C11H12O3。其他两种化合物为邻苯二甲酸二丁酯和邻苯二甲酸二异丁酯。本研究首次发现上述3种化合物的天然存在。【结论】炭团菌液体培养菌液乙酸乙酯提取物对樟子松枯梢病菌具有较高的抑菌活性,在自然环境下具有很高的稳定性,具有很高的开发价值和应用前景,其主要抑菌活性成分为对甲氧基肉桂酸甲酯。对甲氧基肉桂酸甲酯作为医药中间体主要用于化妆品中,作紫外防护吸收剂;邻苯二甲酸二丁酯和邻苯二甲酸二异丁酯均是聚氯乙烯最常用的增塑剂。上述3种化合物天然存在的发现,对于医药工业和化学工业具有极为重要的意义。     

Hypoxylon cohaerens: Cytology of the ascus

The haploid chromosome number ofHypoxylon cohaerens apparently is 5, based on counts made at meiotic prophase and meiotic and mitotic metaphases. Newly formed ascospores are at first uninucleate, becoming binucleate following mitosis in the ascospore. Subsequently, one of the two nuclei disappears. Maturing ascospores are uninucleate.Scientific Paper No. 3732 Washington State University. College of Agriculture, Project 1767. This study was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant GB-19924.     

Lepraric acid derivatives as chemotaxonomic markers in Hypoxylon aeruginosum, Chlorostroma subcubisporum and C. cyaninum, sp. nov

Hypoxylon aeruginosum (Xylariaceae), an infrequently encountered predominantly tropical pyrenomycete, of which two varieties are known to science, is characterised by having a cyan blue stromatal surface or subsurface. In the course of our ongoing chemotaxonomic evaluation of the Xylariaceae, specific profiles of H. aeruginosum were observed by high performance liquid chromatography, coupled with diode array detection and mass spectrometry (hplc-DAD/MS). By comparison with an authentic standard, lepraric acid and several yet unidentified metabolites with similar hplc-DAD/MS characteristics were detected in the stromata of the type material and other specimens of this species. Interestingly, lepraric acid was hitherto only known from lichenised ascomycetes. Hypoxylon aeruginosum, which is here reported first from Africa and Asia, contained none of the metabolites that were previously detected in other Xylariaceae, except for stromata growing hyperparasitically on other Hypoxylon species. A different lepraric acid derivative was also detected in the type specimen of Chlorostroma subcubisporum, which differs from H. aeruginosum by having a green stromatal surface, cuboid ascospores, and in lacking an amyloid ascal apical apparatus. A second species of Chlorostroma, which showed essentially the same metabolite profile as H. aeruginosum, is described from Thailand. We conclude that Chlorostroma and H. aeruginosum are closely related. However, no taxonomic conclusions are drawn from these findings because no cultures have so far become available to study their anamorphic morphology, their secondary metabolites in culture, and their molecular phylogeny. Taxonomic novelty: Chlorostroma cyaninum L?ss?e, Srikitikulchai & J. Fournier, sp. nov.     

Numerical taxonomy of some species of hypoxylon

Numerical analysis has resulted in a division of the coloured and non-coloured species ofHypoxylon. It is suggested that the coloured papillate species e.g.H. multiforme are more closely related toH. fragiforme and members of the Hypoxylon section than to non-coloured papillate species as indicated in the current classification of the genus.The relationships betweenHypoxylon, Daldinia andRosellinia are discussed.     

Hypomiltin,a novel azaphilone from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoxylon hypomiltum</Emphasis>, and chemotypes in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoxylon</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoxylon</Emphasis> as inferred from analytical HPLC profiling

A novel azaphilone named hypomiltin was isolated by preparative reversed phase HPLC from the stromatal extract of the xylariaceous ascomycete Hypoxylon hypomiltum. Its chemical structure was determined by mass spectrometry and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Analytical HPLC profiling of stromatal crude extracts, using UV/visual (diode array) and mass spectrometric detection based on electrospray ionisation, revealed the presence of hypomiltin also in Hypoxylon intermedium, H. perforatum, H. trugodes, and Pulveria porrecta. In contrast, this compound was found neither in type material of H. hypomiltum var. lavandulocinereum nor in several further Hypoxylon species. Despite being chemically related to mitorubrin, hypomiltin never co-occurred with the latter compound and its derivatives. Characteristic secondary metabolite profiles of several further Hypoxylon species are correlated with the colours of their taxonomically significant KOH-extractable pigments. These species are divided into chemotypes, based on analytical HPLC data. The results point toward an extraordinary diversity of secondary metabolites in Hypoxylon. Dedicated to Timm Anke, Kaiserslautern, on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Hypoxylon rubiginosum: Cytology of the ascus and surface morphology of the ascospore

Summary The haploid chromosome number ofHypoxylon rubiginosum is 5. The ascospore is uninucleate when formed, becoming binucleate following a mitosis. One of the nuclei subsequently disintegrates. Maturing ascospores are uninucleate.The morphology of the ascospore, as revealed by the scanning electron microscope, is described. The outer wall layer — the perisporium — shows heretofore undescribed surface fibrils. The possible significance of the fibrils is discussed.Paper No. 3205. Washington State University College of Agriculture Project 1767. This study was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grants GB-5219 and GB-8004.     

New and interesting penzigioid Xylaria species with small, soft stromata

Six penzigioid Xylaria species that are characterized by small, discoid to pulvinate, soft stromata are included in this study. Xylaria albocinctoides, X. bicampaniformis and X. lechatii are described as new; Nummularia albocincta, Hypoxylon carabayense and H. discolor are moved to the genus Xylaria to form new combinations X. albocincta, X. carabayensis and X. discolor respectively. An identification key is provided for the major aggregates of Xylaria that harbor penzigioid species as well as the species of the X. frustulosa aggregate, to which the six studied penzigioid Xylaria species belong.     

Chestersiene, 4-(4-methoxyphenoxy)buta-1, 2-diene: An allenic ether from the fungus Hypoxylon chestersii

Culture solutions of the fungus Hypoxylon chestersii contain a new allenic ether which has been identified as 4-(4-methoxyphenoxy)buta-1, 2-diene. The synthesis of the metabolite is described. This is the first report of the natural occurrence of an aromatic allenic ether.     

Cyclic azaphilones daldinins E and F from the ascomycete fungus Hypoxylon fuscum (Xylariaceae)

Phytochemical examination of the methanolic extract of fruit bodies of the Xylariaceous ascomycete fungus Hypoxylon fuscum led to the isolation of two azaphilone derivatives named daldinins E and F together with two known compounds daldinin C and 4,5,4',5'-tetrahydroxy-1:1'-binaphthyl using a combination of reversed phase HPLC and high performance gel permeation chromatography. Their structures were determined by 2D NMR, MS, IR, UV, and CD spectroscopy. Their antioxidative activities were also estimated by an indication of a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging effect. The chemosystematics of Hypoxylon is discussed.     

Macrocarpones,novel metabolites from stromata of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoxylon macrocarpum</Emphasis>, and new evidence on the chemotaxonomy of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoxylon</Emphasis> species

Several species of the genus Hypoxylon (Xylariaceae) were studied for morphological characters and HPLC-based secondary metabolite profiles. It was confirmed that Hypoxylon is divided into two groups of species, containing either Mitorubrin type azaphilones or binaphthyls, respectively, as main metabolites. In Hypoxylon species of the latter group, some metabolites that are known from the allied genus Daldinia (i.e., Daldinal A in H. fuscum and Daldinin C in H. fuscopurpureum), were encountered for the first time. Moreover, three novel aromatic polyketides, for which the trivial names Macrocarpones A, B and C are proposed, were isolated from ascostromata of Hypoxylon macrocarpum and identified by high resolution mass spectrometry and 2D-NMR spectroscopy. Orsellinic Acid was also identified from ascostromata of H. howeianum and detected by HPLC-MS and HPLC-UV/Vis fingerprinting methodology in H. fragiforme and H. rubiginosum, but not in other examined Hypoxylon species. Due to these studies, H. fuscopurpureum sensu Y.-M. Ju & J.D. Rogers 1996 was identified as a new record for Germany.     

炭团菌提取物对樟子松枯梢病菌的抑菌活性及稳定性研究

采用水提和酯提2种方式提取炭团菌液体培养菌液中高效抑制樟子松枯梢病菌活性物质。采用生长速率法测定提取物对病原菌菌丝生长的抑制率,采用悬滴法测定其对病原菌孢子萌发的抑制率。炭团菌液体培养菌液乙酸乙酯提取物稳定性试验选用紫外线、温度、pH、氧化剂与还原剂以及贮存时间5个因子。结果表明:炭团菌液体培养菌液的5种提取物对樟子松枯梢病菌均有一定的抑菌活性,乙酸乙酯提取物对病原菌菌丝生长的抑制率最高,达到73.20%;乙酸乙酯提取物、超声波提取物、正丁醇提取物对病原菌孢子萌发抑制率均超过90%。乙酸乙酯提取物对自然环境下的紫外线、温度具有很高的稳定性,并且有一定的抗氧化还原能力和良好的耐热性,长期贮存不影响其抑菌活性,具有很高的开发价值和很好的应用前景。     

Hypoxylon pulicicidum sp. nov. (Ascomycota,Xylariales), a Pantropical Insecticide-Producing Endophyte

Background

Nodulisporic acids (NAs) are indole diterpene fungal metabolites exhibiting potent systemic efficacy against blood-feeding arthropods, e.g., bedbugs, fleas and ticks, via binding to arthropod specific glutamate-gated chloride channels. Intensive medicinal chemistry efforts employing a nodulisporic acid A template have led to the development of N-tert-butyl nodulisporamide as a product candidate for a once monthly treatment of fleas and ticks on companion animals. The source of the NAs is a monophyletic lineage of asexual endophytic fungal strains that is widely distributed in the tropics, tentatively identified as a Nodulisporium species and hypothesized to be the asexual state of a Hypoxylon species.

Methods and Results

Inferences from GenBank sequences indicated that multiple researchers have encountered similar Nodulisporium endophytes in tropical plants and in air samples. Ascomata-derived cultures from a wood-inhabiting fungus, from Martinique and closely resembling Hypoxylon investiens, belonged to the same monophyletic clade as the NAs-producing endophytes. The hypothesis that the Martinique Hypoxylon collections were the sexual state of the NAs-producing endophytes was tested by mass spectrometric analysis of NAs, multi-gene phylogenetic analysis, and phenotypic comparisons of the conidial states. We established that the Martinique Hypoxylon strains produced an ample spectrum of NAs and were conspecific with the pantropical Nodulisporium endophytes, yet were distinct from H. investiens. A new species, H. pulicicidum, is proposed to accommodate this widespread organism.

Conclusions and Significance

Knowledge of the life cycle of H. pulicicidum will facilitate an understanding of the role of insecticidal compounds produced by the fungus, the significance of its infections in living plants and how it colonizes dead wood. The case of H. pulicicidum exemplifies how life cycle studies can consolidate disparate observations of a fungal organism, whether from environmental sequences, vegetative mycelia or field specimens, resulting in holistic species concepts critical to the assessment of the dimensions of fungal diversity.     

New species and reports of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoxylon</Emphasis> from Argentina recognized by a polyphasic approach

A preliminary account of Hypoxylon species (Xylariaceae) from the hitherto widely unexplored “Yungas” mountain forests of Northwest Argentina is presented. Two new species are described based on extensive morphological, molecular (ITS region of rDNA, partial β-tubulin gene) and chemotaxonomic data. Hypoxylon spegazzinianum is close to H. erythrostroma, but differs by larger ascospores and a virgariella-like asexual morph. Hypoxylon calileguense resembles H. subgilvum when growing on wood, but can be distinguished by larger ascospores and a fawn to brick stromatal surface colour. Stromata found on bark have affinities to H. pelliculosum, but differ in their stromatal surface colour and conspicuous amyloid apical apparatus. In addition, nine taxa of Hypoxylon are reported for Argentina for the first time, and some details on their asexual state and stromatal secondary metabolites are reported. An updated dichotomous key for Hypoxylon species from Argentina is provided.     

Hypoxylon sp., an Endophyte of Persea indica, Producing 1,8-Cineole and Other Bioactive Volatiles with Fuel Potential

An endophytic fungus of Persea indica was identified, on the basis of its anamorphic stage, as Nodulosporium sp. by SEM. Partial sequence analysis of ITS rDNA revealed the identity of the teleomorphic stage of the fungus as Hypoxylon sp. It produces an impressive spectrum of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), most notably 1,8-cineole, 1-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene, and tentatively identified (+)-.alpha.-methylene-.alpha.-fenchocamphorone, among many others, most of which are unidentified. Six-day-old cultures of Hypoxylon sp. displayed maximal VOC-antimicrobial activity against Botrytis cinerea, Phytophthora cinnamomi, Cercospora beticola, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum suggesting that the VOCs may play some role in the biology of the fungus and its survival in its host plant. Media containing starch- or sugar-related substrates best supported VOC production by the fungus. Direct on-line quantification of VOCs was measured by proton transfer mass spectrometry covering a continuous range with optimum VOC production occurred at 6 days at 145 ppmv with a rate of production of 7.65 ppmv/h. This report unequivocally demonstrates that 1,8-cineole (a monoterpene) is produced by a microorganism, which represents a novel and important source of this compound. This monoterpene is an octane derivative and has potential use as a fuel additive as do the other VOCs of this organism. Thus, fungal sourcing of this compound and other VOCs as produced by Hypoxylon sp. greatly expands their potential applications in medicine, industry, and energy production.