| The project will explore the hypothesis that fungal cyclic peptides are involved in immunoactivity and pathogenicity of some microorganisms. Spores of airborne fungal strains known as opportunistic pathogens (up to BSL-2 risk category) or used as biopesticides will be screened for the presence of cyclic peptides. These compounds, coming both from fungal cultures or spores, will be isolated and characterized by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. If necessary, their structures will be determined by X-ray diffraction. New HPLC/MS methods for their identification, structure elucidation, and quantitative analysis will be developed. |
