Two New Terpenes Isolated from Dictyostelium Cellular Slime Molds

We report a protoilludane-type sesquiterpene, mucoroidiol, and a geranylated bicyclogermacranol, firmibasiol, isolated from Dictyostelium cellular slime molds. The methanol extracts of the fruiting bodies of cellular slime molds were separated by chromatographic methods to give these compounds. Their structures have been established by several spectral means. Mucoroidiol and firmibasiol are the first examples of more modified and oxidized terpenoids isolated from cellular slime molds. Mucoroidiol showed moderate osteoclast-differentiation inhibitory activity despite demonstrating very weak cell-proliferation inhibitory activity. Therefore, cellular slime molds produce considerably diverse secondary metabolites, and they are promising sources of new natural product chemistry.

Dictyostelid Cellular Slime Molds from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean

ABSTRACT Christmas Island (10°30′S, 105°40′E) is an Australian external territory located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 350 km south of Java and Sumatra and about 1,550 km northwest of the closest point on the Australian mainland. In May 2017, 20 samples of soil/humus were collected on Christmas Island and processed for dictyostelid cellular slime molds. Four species were recovered. Two of these (Dictyostelium purpureum and Cavenderia aureostipes) are common and widely distributed throughout the world, but two other species (Dictyostelium insulinativitatis sp. nov. and Dictyostelium barbarae sp. nov.) were found to be new to science and are described here. IMPORTANCE Reported here are the results of a study for dictyostelids carried out on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Six isolates representing four species of dictyostelid cellular slime molds were obtained from two of the four localities from which samples were collected on the island. Two of the species (Dictyostelium insulinativitatis and D. barbarae) belong to the Dictyosteliaceae, genus Dictyostelium, and are new to science. These are described based on both morphology and phylogeny. The diversity and abundance of dictyostelids on Christmas Island appear to be low, which might in part be due to the abundance of land crabs, which considerably reduce the extent of the litter layer on the forest floor.

Dictyostelium: An Important Source of Structural and Functional Diversity in Drug Discovery

The cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is an excellent model organism for the study of cell and developmental biology because of its simple life cycle and ease of use. Recent findings suggest that Dictyostelium and possibly other genera of cellular slime molds, are potential sources of novel lead compounds for pharmacological and medical research. In this review, we present supporting evidence that cellular slime molds are an untapped source of lead compounds by examining the discovery and functions of polyketide differentiation-inducing factor-1, a compound that was originally isolated as an inducer of stalk-cell differentiation in D. discoideum and, together with its derivatives, is now a promising lead compound for drug discovery in several areas. We also review other novel compounds, including secondary metabolites, that have been isolated from cellular slime molds.

New dictyostelid cellular slime molds from South Africa

A distributional study of the dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) of South Africa was carried out during 2006 as part of the Global Biodiversity of Eumycetozoans project based at the University of Arkansas and funded by the National Science Foundation. Samples of soil/humus collected from 31 study sites yielded a total of 881 clones, with an average density of 210 clones/gram for all samples in which dictyostelids were detected. Eighteen different species were represented by one or more clones, and six of these could not be identified. These six species are described herein as new to science. In addition, information is provided on the ecological distribution of all of the species of dictyostelids now known to occur in South Africa.

Dictyostelids from Jilin Province, China II

Four species of dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) in two genera were isolated from forest soil samples collected from Jilin Province in China. Dictyostelium recurvibasicum is new to science. Two of four species (D. longosporum and Polysphondylium tenuissimum) are new to China, and D. brefeldianum is recorded for the first time in the northern part of the country, being known previously only from Taiwan. Descriptions and illustrations are provided herein for these species based on our collections.