Mulundocandin and deoxymulundocandin (Figure 1: 1, 2) are
lipohexapeptides and potent antifungal antibiotics of the echinocandin
class.1–3 Biosynthetically, they are closely related to echinocandin
B and C (Figure 1: 3, 4) but differ by the inclusion of serine instead of
threonine in the fifth position of the hexapeptide core and by a
12-methyl myristoyl side chain instead of a lineolyl side chain.
Mulundocandin and its deshydroxy C4 homotyrosine form have
been investigated extensively as potential lead structures for the
development of echinocandin-type antifungal drugs.3–6 The structure
elucidation of mulundocandin and its potent antifungal activity against
Candida albicans, Cercospora beticola and Microsporum gypseum were
described in 1987 from a strain of Aspergillus (Y-30462= DSMZ 5745)
isolated at Hoechst India Ltd located in Mulund district of Mumbai,
India from a soil sample collected in Bangladesh.1,2 In the original
publication, the fungus was considered to be an unusual variant of
Aspergillus sydowii because of the presence of abundant Hülle cells and
was designated as A. sydowii var. mulundensis. However, the name was
published as a nomen nudum because no type specimen was
designated and no Latin diagnosis was provided. During the course
of development of a transformation method for the mulundocandin-
producing strain by gene inactivation with the hygromycin
resistance gene, the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA
of a subculture derived from DSMZ 5745 was sequenced
(AJ312221), and the sequence data indicated the fungus was more
closely related to A. nidulans than to A. sydowii.
7