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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT
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Lichens are known to synthesize variety of secondary metabolites which show wide range of biological activities. Many substances have been successfully isolated and identified from natural thalli and mycobiont cultures. Various biological... more
Lichens are known to synthesize variety of secondary metabolites which show wide range of biological activities. Many substances have been successfully isolated and identified from natural thalli and mycobiont cultures. Various biological activities have been screened for chemicals produced by mycobionts in culture medium and natural thalli of lichens. In a study conducted two decades back, lichen substances and their biological activities were reviewed, in which were thirty-nine lichen products, mainly novel phenolic compounds, synthesized by mycobiont cultures. Here, we review studies regarding synthesis of lichen substances by liquid cultures of lichen mycobionts, new sophisticated analytical methods for isolation and characterization of lichen substances, and various sensitive bioassays to assess the bioactivity of the isolated compounds. Biological properties of mycobiont cultures and natural thalli of lichens for range of potential bioactivity as anti-oxidation, inhibitions of monoamine oxidase, acetylcholinesterase, and photosynthesis, and growth inhibitions of animal-diseased bacteria, wood-decaying fungi and tumor cells have been discussed in detail.
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Eleven species are recognized of which C. bogilana and C. subflavorubescens are described here as new to science while nine species (C. cinnabarina, C. decipiens, C. ferruginea, C. inconspecta, C. pellodella, C. scopularis, C. stantonii,... more
Eleven species are recognized of which C. bogilana and C. subflavorubescens are described here as new to science while nine species (C. cinnabarina, C. decipiens, C. ferruginea, C. inconspecta, C. pellodella, C. scopularis, C. stantonii, C. squamosa and C. subsoluta) are reported for the first time for South Korea. Both new species are peculiar due to their secondary chemistry; anthraquinones along with atranorin, gyrophoric acid and lecanoric acid in C. bogilana, and gyrophoric acid together with anthraquinones in C. subflavorubescens.
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Diffractaic acid and usnic acid were identified as the analgesic and antipyretic components of a lichen, Usnea diffracta. Both compounds showed an analgesic effect by the acetic acid-induced writhing and tail-pressure methods in mice.... more
Diffractaic acid and usnic acid were identified as the analgesic and antipyretic components of a lichen, Usnea diffracta. Both compounds showed an analgesic effect by the acetic acid-induced writhing and tail-pressure methods in mice. Regarding the effect on normal body temperature and LPS-induced hyperthermia in mice, diffractaic acid showed a significant effect only on the former and usnic acid only on the latter.
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ABSTRACT Graphis flavopalmicola is described as a new lichenized fungus from Jeju Island (South Korea). It is characterized by smooth, whitish-gray, UV+ pale yellow thallus (lichexanthone), unbranched to irregularly branched lirellae;... more
ABSTRACT Graphis flavopalmicola is described as a new lichenized fungus from Jeju Island (South Korea). It is characterized by smooth, whitish-gray, UV+ pale yellow thallus (lichexanthone), unbranched to irregularly branched lirellae; completely carbonized exciple, and transversely 5-9-septate ascospores. It differs from the closely related G. palmicola chiefly in its chemistry; the latter has no substances and is UV-.
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ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
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nterferon-alpha (IFN-a) is a kind of cytokines that share antiviral, as well as immunomodulatory, and antiproliferative effects on cell functions. In this report, the cDNA for Ailuropoda melanoleucas interferon alpha was cloned from the... more
nterferon-alpha (IFN-a) is a kind of cytokines that share antiviral, as well as immunomodulatory, and antiproliferative effects on cell functions. In this report, the cDNA for Ailuropoda melanoleucas interferon alpha was cloned from the ConA-stimulated giant panda peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by RT-PCR. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to predict the characteristics of this gene. Sequencing revealed that the fragment was composed of 495 nucleotides, intronless, encoding a mature polypeptide with 164 amino acids and exhibiting a molecular mass of 18.15 kDa. The analysis of the functional sites and antigenic determinants demonstrated that this protein has 27 functional sites and 9 antigenic determinants, And possesses typical characteristics of interferon alpha, beta and delta family. Compared with 10 corresponding IFN-α sequences. It revealed that the GpIFN-a gene had a close evolutionary relationship with mammalians IFN-a. Phylogenetic tree based on nucleotide seq...
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Soil pollution has been estimated using soil analysis and leaching test. These methods could show different data from reality due to effects by soil properties such as grain size and mineral composition. Therefore, this study advocates a... more
Soil pollution has been estimated using soil analysis and leaching test. These methods could show different data from reality due to effects by soil properties such as grain size and mineral composition. Therefore, this study advocates a new assessment and monitoring method of heavy metal polluted soil using fruticose lichens. Lichens growing at abandoned mine sites and unpolluted areas in southwest Japan and their substrata were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to clarify the relationships between the heavy metal concentrations in lichens and soils, and their heavy metal absorption properties. Concentrations of Cu, Zn, As, and Pb in the lichens were positively correlated with those in the soil. Variability of the relationships did not depend on the lichen species, location, habitat, or the conditions of soils. The analyzed lichens had neither competitive nor antagonistic properties in their heavy metal absorption, which...
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Delimiting species boundaries among closely related lineages often requires a range of independent data sets and analytical approaches. Similar to other organismal groups, robust species circumscriptions in fungi are increasingly... more
Delimiting species boundaries among closely related lineages often requires a range of independent data sets and analytical approaches. Similar to other organismal groups, robust species circumscriptions in fungi are increasingly investigated within an empirical framework. Here we attempt to delimit species boundaries in a closely related clade of lichen-forming fungi endemic to Asia, the Hypogymnia hypotrypa group (Parmeliaceae). In the current classification, the Hypogymnia hypotrypa group includes two species: H. hypotrypa and H. flavida, which are separated based on distinctive reproductive modes, the former producing soredia but absent in the latter. We reexamined the relationship between these two species using phenotypic characters and molecular sequence data (ITS, GPD, and MCM7 sequences) to address species boundaries in this group. In addition to morphological investigations, we used Bayesian clustering to identify potential genetic groups in the H. hypotrypa/H. flavida cla...
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Panaefluoroline B (2) is a fluorescent yellowish-green pigment produced by the cultured mycobiont of a lichen, Amygdalaria panaeola. Panaefluoroline B (2) has an isoquinoline skeleton, a C5 unit, and an amino acid, glycine, in its... more
Panaefluoroline B (2) is a fluorescent yellowish-green pigment produced by the cultured mycobiont of a lichen, Amygdalaria panaeola. Panaefluoroline B (2) has an isoquinoline skeleton, a C5 unit, and an amino acid, glycine, in its structure. The biosynthetic pathway of 2 was revealed by feeding experiments using [1-(13)C]-sodium acetate and [1,2-(13)C2][(15)N]-glycine. The analysis of labeling patterns of 2 and its mass spectrum suggested the isoquinoline part is biosynthesized via the acetate-malonate pathway with glycine as the nitrogen source and that the C5 unit originates from the mevalonate pathway.
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Screening of growth inhibition of two wood decaying Fungi, Trametes versicolor and Fomitopsis palustris, by 46 strains of cultured lichen mycobionts is reported. Cell-aggregates of each mycobiont strain were placed on agar-plates of... more
Screening of growth inhibition of two wood decaying Fungi, Trametes versicolor and Fomitopsis palustris, by 46 strains of cultured lichen mycobionts is reported. Cell-aggregates of each mycobiont strain were placed on agar-plates of malt-yeast extract medium, glucose peptone medium, and potato dextrose medium and pre-incubated. After a month, a wood decaying fungi were inoculated onto the agar-plate on which different mycobionts grew, and they were cultured together. Mycobionts Acarospora fuscata, Arthonia cinnabarina and Ramalina exils inhibited the growth of both fungi.
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Understanding the relationship between Cu and Cu-hyperaccumulator lichens is important for their application in monitoring and assessing heavy metal pollution. We investigated the Cu-hyperaccumulator lichen Stereocaulon japonicum at... more
Understanding the relationship between Cu and Cu-hyperaccumulator lichens is important for their application in monitoring and assessing heavy metal pollution. We investigated the Cu-hyperaccumulator lichen Stereocaulon japonicum at several Cu-polluted and control sites in Japan, and found the lichen to be widely distributed. Its concentrations of Cu, chlorophylls, and secondary metabolites, chlorophyll-related indices, and absorption spectra were measured, and we observed negative effects of Cu on these concentrations and indices. For highly Cu-polluted samples (>100ppm dry weight), however, we found significant linear correlations between Cu and chlorophyll concentrations. This can be considered as the response of the photobiont in S. japonicum to Cu stress. In highly Cu-polluted samples the chlorophyll-related indices and concentration of total secondary metabolites were almost constant regardless of Cu concentration. This suggests that the increase in chlorophyll concentratio...
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The present study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity of lichen-forming fungi (LFF) against Helicobacter pylori, and to optimize the culture conditions of LFF for maximum production of natural antibiotics against H.... more
The present study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity of lichen-forming fungi (LFF) against Helicobacter pylori, and to optimize the culture conditions of LFF for maximum production of natural antibiotics against H. pylori. To accomplish this, a screening assay was first conducted among 19 species of LFF. The extract of Nephromopsis pallescens (KOLRI-040516) exhibited the strongest anti-ff. pylori activity. Bioautograghic TLC and HPLC analysis identified usnic acid as the main antibacterial substance produced by JV. pallescens. The growth of JV. pallescens and production of antibacterial substances produced by the fungus were then investigated under several culture conditions including the culture media, initial medium pHs, incubation temperatures, and the degree of aeration. The results indicated that culture in MY medium with an initial pH of 6.0, a temperature of 15°C and a low degree of aeration supported the largest usnic acid production of the fungus (16.4 ug usnic acid/g dry biomass). Especially, aeration was found to be an important factor that affect both growth and usnic acid production of N. pallescens.
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Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, Biology, Helicobacter pylori, Medicine, and 11 moreTemperature, Microbiology of the Forest Soil, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Antibacterial activity, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Quntitative Thin Layer Chromatography, Culture Media, Ascomycota, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, and H Pylori
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... H. Luo Á J. A Kim Á JS Jung Á YJ Koh Á J.-S. Hur (&) Korean Lichen Research Institute, Sunchon National University, 315 ... metabolites which are often structurally unique, with only a small num-ber of them being found in other... more
... H. Luo Á J. A Kim Á JS Jung Á YJ Koh Á J.-S. Hur (&) Korean Lichen Research Institute, Sunchon National University, 315 ... metabolites which are often structurally unique, with only a small num-ber of them being found in other fungi and higher plants (Stocker-Wörgötter 2008). ...
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... several lichen species from different regions of the world have been screened for their potential antioxidant properties, and some of them showed very strong antioxidant activities (Gülçin et al. ... Silica gel at the active spot area... more
... several lichen species from different regions of the world have been screened for their potential antioxidant properties, and some of them showed very strong antioxidant activities (Gülçin et al. ... Silica gel at the active spot area was col-lected, dissolved in acetone, and filtered. ...