Eupenicillium shearii explained

Eupenicillium shearii is a fungus in the genus Penicillium. The type strain was first isolated in 1931 by Dr. Otto R. Reinking from a soil sample taken in Honduras. It has also been isolated from soil collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and near Abidjan. It was named and described in 1967.^[1]

E. shearii is of interest to medicinal chemists due to its production of kaitocephalin, a substance that may protect the brain and nervous system.^[2] Therefore, kaitocephalin is an attractive scaffold for drug development. Drugs based on this compound may be used to treat neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and stroke.^[3]

See also

• List of Penicillium species

Notes and References

1. Amelia C. Stolk and De B. Scott, "Studies on the Genus Eupenicillium Ludwig", Persoonia 4 (1967): 391-405
2. Yoko Yasuno et al., "(7S)-Kaitocephalin as a potent NMDA receptor selective ligand", Org. Biomol. Chem. 14 (2016): 1206-1210
3. Philip Garner et al., "A concise [C+NC+CC] coupling-enabled synthesis of kaitocephalin", Chem. Commun. 50 (2014): 4908-4910