Merocyclophanes C and D from the Cultured Freshwater Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. (UIC 10110)

Merocyclophanes C and D (1 and 2) were isolated from the cell extract of the cultured cyanobacterium UIC 10110. The structures were determined by one-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and confirmed by 2D NMR techniques. The absolute configurations were determined using electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy. Merocyclophanes C and D represent the first known analogues of the merocyclophane core structure, a recently discovered scaffold of [7,7] paracyclophanes characterized by an α-branched methyl at C-1/C-14; 1 and 2 showed antiproliferative activity against the MDA-MB-435 cell line with IC₅₀ values of 1.6 and 0.9 μM, respectively. Partial 16S analysis determined UIC 10110 to be a Nostoc sp., and it was found to clade with UIC 10062 Nostoc sp., the only other strain known to produce merocyclophanes. The genome of UIC 10110 was sequenced, and a biosynthetic gene cluster was identified that is proposed to encode type I and type III polyketide synthases that are potentially responsible for production of the merocyclophanes; however, further experiments will be required to verify the true function of the gene cluster. The gene cluster provides a genetic basis for the observed structural differences of the [7,7] paracyclophane core structures.