1 Recent developments in the molecular taxonomy of fungi Roland W. S. Weber 2 Sordaria macrospora, a model system for fungal development Ulrich Kuck, Stefanie Poggeler, Minou Nowrousian, Nicole Nolting, Ines Engh 3 Inteins - selfish elements in fungal genomes Skander Elleuche, Stefanie Poggeler 4 Apoptosis in fungal development and ageing Diana Brust, Andrea Hamann, Heinz D. Osiewacz 5 Communication of fungi on individual, species, kingdom and above kingdom levels Ursula Kues, Monica Navarro-Gonzalez 6 Yeast killer toxins: fundamentals and applications Friedhelm Meinhardt, Roland Klassen 7 Evolutionary and ecological interactions of mould and insects Marko Rohlfs, Monika Trienens, Ulrike Fohgrub, Frank Kempken 8 Endophytic fungi, occurrence and metabolites Daniela Weber 9 Fungal origin of ergoline alkaloids present in dicotyledonous plants (Convolvulaceae) Eckhard Leistner and Ulrike Steiner 10 Secondary metabolites of basidiomycetes Anja Schuffler, Timm Anke 11 Identification of fungicide targets in pathogenic fungi Andrew J. Foster, Eckhard Thines 12 Helminth electron transport inhibitors produced by fungi Rokuro Masuma, Kazuro Shiomi, Satoshi Omura 13 Cyclic peptides and depsipeptides from fungi Heidrun Anke, Luis Antelo 14 Fungal genome mining and activation of silent gene clusters Axel A. Brakhage, Sebastian Bergmann, Julia Schuemann, Kirstin Scherlach, Volker Schroeckh, Christian Hertweck 15 Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases of fungi Kathrin Eisfeld 16 Biosynthesis of fungal polyketides Julia Schumann, Christian Hertweck 17 Physiological and molecular aspects of ochratoxin A biosynthesis Rolf Geisen, MarkusSchmidt-Heydt 18 Genetic and Metabolic Engineering in Filamentous Fungi Jochen Schmid, Ulf Stahl, Vera Meyer Biosystematic Index Subject Index

The isoflavonoids coumestrol, genistein and daidzein have been isolated and identified by bioassay-guided fractionation from the acetone extract of Erythrina crista galli young twigs infected with Phomopsis sp. These compounds showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus brevis (MIC values 16.3, 64.8 and 137.8 microM, respectively). This is the first time that coumestrol, besides lutein and n-nonacosane, are reported in this species.

Mollisianitrile (1), a new antibiotic was isolated from the fermentation broth of Mollisa sp. A59-96 together with the two known isocoumarins 2 and 3. 1 exhibited antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and phytotoxic activities. 1 contains a reactive propiolonitrile moiety which is believed to be responsible for its antibiotic activities. Upon incubation with L-cysteine the biological activity was lost.

The medicinal plant Eupatorium arnottianum can be found in the Northeast and center of Argentina and the South of Bolivia. From plant material collected in Argentina an endophytic Phomopsis was isolated. The fungus was identified by microscopic features and analysis of its ITS sequence. Cultures yielded, besides mellein and nectriapyrone, a novel depsidone derivative for which we propose the name phomopsidone (1). The structure of 1 was determined from its spectroscopic data.

In the search for bioactive compounds from Argentine Medicinal Plants and their endophytic fungii, extracts from Erythrina crista-galli and its endophyte (Phomopsis sp) were assayed for antimicrobial activity. Three isoflavonoids isolated from the plant extract showed activity against Bacillus subtilis and B. brevis. In order to find any possible metabolic interaction between plant and endophyte, HPLC profile of their extracts were compared and two common compounds were detected.

The metabolites of two different Ripartites species, R. tricholoma (A. & S. ex Fr.) Karst. and R. metrodii Huijsm. were investigated. Three new sesquiterpenes were isolated from three different strains. In addition, the strains produced 13-oxo-9(Z),11(E)-octadecadienoic acid, psathyrellon A, 5-desoxyilludosin, an illudane (previously isolated from a Bovista sp.) 96042 and demethylovalicin, five known compounds.

In the course of a screening of fungal extracts for new metabolites with cytotoxic activities cylindrocyclin A ( 1 ) was isolated. The producing strain was identified as Cylindrocarpon sp. by microscopy and ITS rDNA sequence analysis. 1 is a novel compound that exhibits cytotoxic acticity against six different cell lines with IC 50 values ranging from 11 to 53 μM. 1 has no antibacterial or antifungal activity. The compound is a cyclic nonapeptide comprising three alanines, five leucines and one isoleucine. Four amino acids are N -methylated. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

Erythrina crista-galli (Fabaceae) is used in Argentinean ethnopharmacology as anti-inflammatory medication, narcotic, desinfectant, and for the treatment of wounds. The common name of the tree is “ceibo“ or coral tree. The dominating endophytes in E. crista-galli all belong to the genus Phomopsis as identified by microscopic features and the analysis of their ITS sequences. To investigate a possible contribution of Phomopsis spp. to the metabolites found in the plant, twelve different isolates were cultivated in different media. Besides several new metabolites a number of known compounds were detected: mellein, nectriapyrone, 4-hydroxymellein, scytalone, tyrosol, clavatol, mevinic acid, and mevalonolactone.