Endophytic fungi compounds from

There are a number of recent reviews of endophytes, both bacterial and fungal, and their secondary metabolism that would provide the interested reader with further details and background. Among these are the excellent reviews concerning the interaction between the endophyte and the host, as well as those that specifically address the bioactive natural product production by endophytic fungi.The latter collectively list over 330 different compounds produced. To the extent that is reasonable, I have chosen not to repeat the information in these recent reviews, but to summarize their findings (Table 1). This review will address the information from the more recent literature and, insofar as is known, details of biosynthesis. 

Table 1. Bioactive fungal products from endophytic fungi in recent literature reviews. The compounds include antifungal, antibacterial, antimycobacterial, antiviral, nematicidal, cytotoxic, antineoplastic, antioxidant, antiinsectant, antifeedant, antidiabetic, herbicidal, algicidal, specific en mie inhibitory, and immunomodulatory activities. 

An interesting new area of work is the biotransformation of plant products to new compounds by their endophytic fungi. A known allelopathic compound, lepidimoide, was synthesized by an endophytic Colletotrichum sp. from okra Hibiscus esculentus) polysaccharide [(1 —> 4) — O — a-(D-galactopyranosyluronic acid)-(l - 2) —O — a-L-rhamopyranose]... 

In a study of mangrove endophytic fungi metabolites, four new compounds, dothiorelone A-D 65-68, were isolated from an endophytic fungus, Dothiorella sp. HTF3. They all exhibited cytotoxic activities. 

But the ultimate purpose of this study is to isolate novel, active metabolites with drug potential. Although a few such compounds have surfaced from this work, these early studies involved traditional fermentation methods which often produce known compounds. Changing the fermentation process, however, can alter the products of fungal metabolism, producing novel secondary metabolites. With this in mind, we studied media effects on natural products production by endophytic fungi. 

Taxanes are diterpene compounds containing a taxane skeleton. Paclitaxel, the first compound identified with a taxane ring, was isolated from the bark of the pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia in 1971. Subsequently, paclitaxel and tax-oid derivatives have been reported from the foliage and bark of several other species of Taxus, like T. wallichinan, T. baccata, T. canadensis, T. cuspidata, and T. Yunnanensis In addition to the plant resources, some endophytic fungi, such as Tubercularia sp., Sporormia minima and Seimatoantlerium tepui-ense, have also been reported to produce paclitaxel and other taxoids. " Paclitaxel is effective for the treatment of leukemia and cancers. It has been reported that paclitaxel is capable of curing approximately 30%, 50%, and 20% of ovarian, breast, and lung cancer patients, respectively. ... 

Bioactive constituents from toxic seed plants in China 13RCA10078. Bioactive natural compounds from the plant endophytic fungi Pestalo-tiopsis spp. 12MRM1382. 

Zhao J, Zhou L, Wang J, Shan T, Zhong L, Liu X, Gao X (2010) Endophytic fungi for producing bioactive compounds originally from their host plants. In Mendez-Vilas A (ed) Current research, technology and education topics in applied microbiology and microbial... 

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