*Article* **New Antibacterial Chloro-Containing Polyketides from the Alga-Derived Fungus** *Asteromyces cruciatus* **KMM 4696**

**Olesya I. Zhuravleva 1,2,\* , Galina K. Oleinikova <sup>1</sup> , Alexandr S. Antonov <sup>1</sup> , Natalia N. Kirichuk <sup>1</sup> , Dmitry N. Pelageev <sup>1</sup> , Anton B. Rasin <sup>1</sup> , Alexander S. Menshov <sup>1</sup> , Roman S. Popov <sup>1</sup> , Natalya Yu. Kim <sup>1</sup> , Ekaterina A. Chingizova <sup>1</sup> , Artur R. Chingizov <sup>1</sup> , Olga O. Volchkova <sup>2</sup> , Gunhild von Amsberg 3,4 , Sergey A. Dyshlovoy 2,3,4 , Ekaterina A. Yurchenko <sup>1</sup> , Irina V. Guzhova <sup>5</sup> and Anton N. Yurchenko <sup>1</sup>**


**Abstract:** Six new polyketides acrucipentyns A–F (**1**–**6**) were isolated from the alga-derived fungus *Asteromyces cruciatus* KMM 4696. Their structures were established based on spectroscopic methods. The absolute configurations of acrucipentyn A was assigned by the modified Mosher's method and ROESY data analysis. Acrucipentyns A–E were identified to be the very first examples of chlorine-containing asperpentyn-like compounds. The cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of the isolated compounds were examined. Acrucipentyns A–F were found as antimicrobial agents, which inhibited sortase A enzyme activity, bacterial growth and biofilm formation of *Staphylococcus aureus* and decreased LDH release from human keratinocytes HaCaT in *S. aureus* skin infection in an in vitro model.

**Keywords:** *Asteromyces cruciatus*; marine fungi; secondary metabolites; polyketides; sortase A; chlore-containing metabolites; *Staphylococcus aureus*; antibacterial activity; biofilm formation
