Infectopyrone, a potential mycotoxin from Alternaria infectoria

A new metabolite, infectopyrone (1), has been isolated from the filamentous fungus Alternaria infectoria. The structure of 1 was elucidated by analysis of 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Compound 1 is an α-pyrone resembling known toxins, and is a useful phenotaxonomic marker for the A. infectoria species-group. Infectopyrone (1) was also produced by species within Stemphyllium and Ulocladium, and found in mouldy food.