Bioactive Cyclic Dipeptides from a Marine Sponge-Associated Bacterium, Psychrobacter sp.

A bacterial strain with good antibacterial activities against Staphylococus aureus and Escherichia coli was isolated from a marine sponge Stelleta sp., and it was identified as a Psychrobacter sp. by comparative 16S rDNA sequence analysis. In our search for bioactive secondary metabolites from this psychrophillic and halotolerent bacterium, sixteen cyclic dipeptides (1-16) were isolated and their structures were identified on the basis of NMR analysis. In the test of the compounds for the protective effect against Vibrio vulnificus-induced cytotoxicity in human intestinal epithelial cells, cyclo-(L-Pro-L-Phe) (5) exhibited significant protective effect. Compounds 2, 6, and 11, which contain D-amino acid, were first isolated from bacteria.