Induction of diverse secondary metabolites in Aspergillus fumigatus by microbial co-culture

An established culture of Aspergillus fumigatus MBC-F1-10 proved to be very receptive to external stimuli and reacted with the production of secondary metabolites which were undetectable when the fungus was grown under standard conditions. Firstly, co-cultivation with the type strain of Streptomyces bullii, an isolate from hyper-arid Atacama desert soil, led to the isolation of ergosterol 1, seven metabolites belonging to the diketopiperazine alkaloids; brevianamide F 2, spirotryprostatin A 3, 6-methoxy spirotryprostatin B 4, fumitremorgin C and its 12,13-dihydroxy derivative (5–6), fumitremorgin B 7, and verruculogen 8, in addition to 11-O-methylpseurotin A 9 and its new isomer 11-O-methylpseurotin A210. In an independent experiment, addition of N-butyryl-DL-homoserine lactone to the culture medium led to the production of emestrins A and B (11–12). Neither microbe produced these compounds when cultured alone. The structures of all compounds were elucidated using NMR spectroscopic techniques and mass spectrometric analysis. The isolated compounds were tested for their potential antibacterial and antiprotozoal activities.