Chlamyphilone, a Novel Pochonia chlamydosporia Metabolite with Insecticidal Activity

Abstract

Metabolites from a collection of selected fungal isolates have been screened for insecticidal activity against the aphid <i>Acyrthosiphon pisum</i>. Crude organic extracts of culture filtrates from six fungal isolates (<i>Paecilomyces lilacinus</i>, <i>Pochonia chlamydosporia</i>, <i>Penicillium griseofulvum</i>, <i>Beauveria bassiana</i>, <i>Metarhizium anisopliae</i> and <i>Talaromyces pinophilus</i>) caused mortality of aphids within 72 h after treatment. In this work, bioassay-guided fractionation has been used to characterize the main bioactive metabolites accumulated in fungal extracts. Leucinostatins A, B and D represent the bioactive compounds produced by <i>P. lilacinus.</i> From <i>P. griseofulvum</i> and <i>B. bassiana</i> extracts, griseofulvin and beauvericin have been isolated, respectively; 3-<i>O</i>-Methylfunicone and a mixture of destruxins have been found in the active fractions of <i>T. pinophilum</i> and <i>M. anisopliae</i>, respectively. A novel azaphilone compound, we named chlamyphilone, with significant insecticidal activity, has been isolated from the culture filtrate of <i>P. chlamydosporia</i>. Its structure has been determined using extensive spectroscopic methods and chemical derivatization.