title: Claviceps nigricans and Claviceps grohii: their alkaloids and phylogenetic placement.
abstract: Claviceps purpurea, C. grohii, C. zizaniae, C. cyperi, and C. nigricans are closely related ergot fungi and form a monophyletic clade inside the genus Claviceps. Analysis of alkaloid content in C. nigricans sclerotia using UPLC detected ergocristine (1), ergosine (2), alpha-ergocryptine (3), and ergocristam (4). Alkaloids 1, 3, and 4 were found in the sclerotia of C. grohii. The content of 4 in the mixture of alkaloids from C. nigricans and C. grohii (over 8% and over 20%, respectively) was unusually high. Submerged shaken cultures of C. nigricans produced no alkaloids, whereas C. grohii culture formed small amounts (15 mg L (-1)) of extracellular clavines and 1. In the previously used HPLC method the ergocristam degradation product could have been obscured by the ergosine peak. Therefore sclerotia of a C. purpurea habitat-specific population G2 with the dominant production of 1 and 2 have been reanalyzed, but no 4 was detected. The phylogeny of the C. purpurea-related species group is discussed with regard to alkaloid-specific nonribosomal peptide synthetase duplication leading to the production of two main ergopeptines instead of a single product.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology ASCR, Prague, Czech Republic. pazouto@biomed.cas.cz
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pazoutová
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olsovská
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sulc
authors.forename: Milada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chudícková
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flieger
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002967:Claviceps / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D018153:Czech Republic; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010453:Peptide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D004247:DNA; D010453:Peptide Synthases; C104385:non-ribosomal peptide synthase