What do ancient pottery, bees and fungi have in common? : the identification, isolation, and structural elucidation of diverse natural products
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kristof B. Cank (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Nicholas Oberlies
Abstract: Natural products are metabolites and/or sometimes by-products derived naturally from plants, microorganisms, or even animals. They play a significant role in therapeutic drug discovery, and they possess important agricultural and ethnobotanical relevance. As part of an interdisciplinary project to study natural products from different origins, this dissertation discusses a variety of topics involving the identification, isolation, and structure elucidation of natural products. In the first project, a novel methodology for chemical residue analysis was developed with a goal of identifying natural residues on the surface of ancient Peruvian artifacts. The identified compounds allowed us to examine the ethnobotanical relevance of these artifacts. The second project discusses the isolation and structure elucidation of novel polychlorinated secondary metabolites from a yet undescribed marine fungal species. The third project represents a distinct study to compare multiple artificial algae-based diets for honey bees. The goal of this latter project was to evaluate the key similarities and differences between the artificial and traditional pollen-based diets in honey bees, which are critical agricultural pollinators in the United States. The last study discusses the discovery of new antimalarial compounds from filamentous fungi. Throughout this study, more than 40,000 fungal strains were examined for their antimalarial activity. Several antimalarial compounds were isolated, among them a compound termed viridicatumtoxin A and a compound class termed, leucinostatin analogues, were the most potent inhibitors. Spatial mapping of the leucinostatin biosynthesizing strains and precursor directed biosynthesis of novel analogues were pursued.
Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2022
- Keywords
- Fungi, Honeybee, Malaria, Natural products, Secondary metabolites
- Subjects
- Natural products
- Metabolites
- Fungi
- Honeybee $x Nutrition
- Malaria $x Immunotherapy