Use ofα-aminoisobutyric acid and isovaline as marker amino acids for the detection of fungal polypeptide antibiotics. Screening ofHypocrea.

Filamentous fungi of the genusHypocrea were grown on malt extract/peptone agar, the mycelia were extracted with dichloromethane/methanol, and the extracts were totally hydrolyzed with 6 N HCl (110°C, 24 h). The amino acids (AA) released from peptides were converted into theirN(O)-pen-tafluoropropionyl 1-propyl esters and investigated by gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the presence of the nonprotein AAα-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) and its homologue isovaline (Iva). In particular Aib served as specific marker compound for a particular group of fungal peptides named peptaibiotics,i.e. peptides containing Aib and having antibiotic activities. Screening of 24 species ofHypocrea revealed that the majority was capable of producing peptaibiotics. The reliability of the screening procedure was shown with the isolation of peptaibiotics fromHypocrea muroiana andHypocrea nigricans. These findings extend the list of genera of fungi already known to produce Aib-containing peptides and also establish that Aib and Iva are fairly common in the biosphere.