Hydroxylation at carbon-2 of ent-16-oxo-17-norkauran-19-oic acid by Fusarium proliferatum.

A new product of biotransformation of ent-16-oxo-17-norkauran-19-oic acid (1) by Fusarium proliferatum was isolated and identified as a 2beta-hydroxy derivative (2). The structure of 2 was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data interpretation and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The allelopathic activity of compound 2 was evaluated on the growth of radicals and shoots of Lactuca sativa (lettuce). This is the first time that fungal hydroxylation at position C-2 has been reported on an ent-kaurane diterpene skeleton.