Antifungal Norditerpene Oidiolactones from the Fungus , a Potential Biocontrol Agent for White-Nose Syndrome in Bats.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease of hibernating bats caused by the fungus . We obtained 383 fungal and bacterial isolates from the Soudan Iron Mine, an important bat hibernaculum in Minnesota, then screened this library for antifungal activity to develop biological control treatments for WNS. An extract from the fungus was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation, which led to the isolation of 14 norditerpene and three anthraquinone metabolites. Ten of these compounds were previously described in the literature, and here we present the structures of seven new norditerpene analogues. Additionally, this is the first report of 4-chlorophyscion from a natural source, previously identified as a semisynthetic product. The compounds PR 1388 and LL-Z1271α were the only inhibitors of (MIC = 7.5 and 15 μg/mL, respectively). Compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against fibroblast cell cultures obtained from (northern long eared bat) and (gray bat) using a standard MTT viability assay. The most active antifungal compound, PR 1388, was nontoxic toward cells from both bat species (IC > 100 μM). We discuss the implications of these results in the context of the challenges and logistics of developing a substrate treatment or prophylactic for WNS.