Dr Markus Greßler (l.) and Florian Baldeweg Image: Jan-Peter Kasper (University of Jena)
Research team discovers previously unknown natural products in soil fungus Mortierella alpina. Life Mortierella alpina lives in the soil and likes to keep cool. This fungus, which belongs to the zygomycetes, grows best at temperatures of 10 to 15°C and occurs mainly in alpine or arctic habitats. In biotechnology, the fungus has been used for the large-scale production of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic acids, mainly used as a dietary supplement in baby foods. But M. alpina can do much more: a research team from the Institute of Pharmacy at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, has discovered that this fungus also produces other interesting compounds. In the specialist journal 'Organic Letters', the researchers, led by Dr Markus Greßler, present a group of surface-active peptides - called malpinins -which are produced in large quantities by the fungus (DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.9b00193). Surfactants are substances that are used in laundry detergents and washing up liquids.
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