Chromatographic separation of a crude extract obtained from the fungus Aspergillus sp., isolated from the Mediterranean sponge Tethya aurantium, yielded a new tryptophan derived alkaloid, 34(1-hydroxy-3-(2methylbut-3-en-2-y1)-2-oxoindolin-3-yl)methyl)-1-methyl-3,4-dihydrobenzo[e][1,41diazepine-2, 5-dione (1), and a new meroterpenoid, austalide R (2), together with three known compounds (3-5). The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously elucidated on the basis of extensive one and twodimensional NMR (1H, 13C, COSY, HMBC, and ROESY) and mass spectral analysis. Interestingly, the compounds exhibited antibacterial activity when tested against a panel of marine bacteria, with 1 selectively inhibiting Vibrio species and 2 showing a broad spectrum of activity. In contrast, no significant activity was observed against terrestrial bacterial strains and the murine cancer cell line L5178Y. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.