IMA Fungus 3(2): 189-201, doi: 10.5598/imafungus.2012.03.02.11
Westerdykella reniformis sp. nov., producing the antibiotic metabolites melinacidin IV and chetracin B
expand article infoGhada A. Ebead‡, David P. Overy§, Fabrice Berrué§, Russell G. Kerr‡
‡ University of Prince Edward Island, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, Canada§ University of Prince Edward Island, Department of Chemistry, Charlottetown, Canada
© Ghada Ebead, David Overy, Fabrice Berrué, Russell Kerr.
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Citation: Ebead GA, Overy DP, Berrué F, Kerr RG (2012) Westerdykella reniformis sp. nov., producing the antibiotic metabolites melinacidin IV and chetracin B. IMA Fungus 3(2): 189-201. https://doi.org/10.5598/imafungus.2012.03.02.11
Open Access
Abstract
Westerdykella reniformis Ebead & Overy sp. nov. is described based on morphology and phylogenetic analyses using ITS, nLSU rDNA, and ß-tubulin gene sequences. Westerdykella reniformis is characterized by the production of cleistothecioid ascomata, containing small globose to subglobose asci with 32, aseptate, dark colored, pronouncedly reniform ascospores having a concave central groove. The isolate was obtained from a red alga (Polysiphonia sp.) collected from the tidal zone in Canada at low tide. Organic extracts enriched in extrolites, obtained from fermentation on a rice-based media, inhibited the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), S. warneri, and Proteus vulgaris. Presented here is the identification of the compounds responsible for the observed antimicrobial activity, the taxonomic description of W. reniformis, and a dichotomous key to the known species of Westerdykella based on macro- and micromorphological characters.
Keywords
antimicrobial screening, Ascomycota, ITS phylogeny, multigene phylogeny, Sporormiaceae