Recherches sur la biochimie des champignons inférieurs IX. Synthèse de précurseurs marqués et biosynthèse de la phoenicine et de l'oosporéine

✍ Scribed by Eric Steiner; Julius Kalamar; Etienne Charollais; Théodore Posternak

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1974
• Tongue: German
• Weight: 710 KB
• Volume: 57
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0018-019X
• DOI: 10.1002/hlca.19740570810

✦ Synopsis

The biosynthesis of phoenicine and of oosporeine by intact cells of Penicillium phoeniceum VAN BEYMA and of Chaetomium aureum CHIVERS respectively, has been investigated. Starting from acetic acid, biosynthetic sequences have been proposed; they are based on the incorporation of radioactivity into the two pigments of labelled, biochemically probable precursors. Orsellinic acid appears as a common intermediate, which is converted by multistep processes to 2,3,5‐trihydroxytoluene or to 2,3,5,6‐tetrahydroxytoluene. Oxidative coupling of two molecules of the triphenol furnishes the reduced form of phoenicine. Similarly, coupling of two molecules of the tetraphenol gives leuco‐oosporeine. Both leuco‐derivatives are easily dehydrogenated, under physiological conditions, with formation of the diquinones. Coupling occurs when the monophenyl derivatives contain the required number of OH groups in suitable positions.