Inducing Secondary Metabolite Production by Co-culture of the Endophytic Fungus Phoma sp. and the Symbiotic Fungus Armillaria sp.

Co-culturing the endophytic fungus Phoma sp. YUD17001 from Gastrodia elata with Armillaria sp. in liquid nutrient medium resulted in the production of five new secondary metabolites, including two phenolic compounds, phexandiols A and B (1 and 2), three aliphatic ester derivatives, phomesters A–C (3–5), and a known fatty acid (6). The structures and absolute configurations of these compounds were elucidated by the interpretation of data from detailed spectroscopic analysis, Mosher’s method, and electronic circular dichroism spectra, together with consideration of the biogenetic origins. None of the five new compounds were detected in single-strain cultures under identical fermentation conditions. The results of this work indicated that the production of 1–5 involved a complicated interaction process. None of the new compounds possessed significant cytotoxicity or antimicrobial activities.