Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery
Plant-associated endophytes define an important symbiotic association in nature and are established bio-reservoirs of plant-derived natural products. Endophytes colonize the internal tissues of a plant without causing any disease symptoms or apparent changes. Recently, there has been a growing inter...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/360 |
| _version_ | 1827653678124761088 |
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| author | Pragya Tiwari Hanhong Bae |
| author_facet | Pragya Tiwari Hanhong Bae |
| author_sort | Pragya Tiwari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant-associated endophytes define an important symbiotic association in nature and are established bio-reservoirs of plant-derived natural products. Endophytes colonize the internal tissues of a plant without causing any disease symptoms or apparent changes. Recently, there has been a growing interest in endophytes because of their beneficial effects on the production of novel metabolites of pharmacological significance. Studies have highlighted the socio-economic implications of endophytic fungi in agriculture, medicine, and the environment, with considerable success. Endophytic fungi-mediated biosynthesis of well-known metabolites includes taxol from <i>Taxomyces andreanae</i>, azadirachtin A and B from <i>Eupenicillium parvum</i>, vincristine from <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>, and quinine from <i>Phomopsis</i> sp. The discovery of the billion-dollar anticancer drug taxol was a landmark in endophyte biology/research and established new paradigms for the metabolic potential of plant-associated endophytes. In addition, endophytic fungi have emerged as potential prolific producers of antimicrobials, antiseptics, and antibiotics of plant origin. Although extensively studied as a “production platform” of novel pharmacological metabolites, the molecular mechanisms of plant–endophyte dynamics remain less understood/explored for their efficient utilization in drug discovery. The emerging trends in endophytic fungi-mediated biosynthesis of novel bioactive metabolites, success stories of key pharmacological metabolites, strategies to overcome the existing challenges in endophyte biology, and future direction in endophytic fungi-based drug discovery forms the underlying theme of this article. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:24:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd6739810173429b91517f17dc10e464 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:24:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd6739810173429b91517f17dc10e4642023-11-23T21:14:53ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072022-02-0110236010.3390/microorganisms10020360Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug DiscoveryPragya Tiwari0Hanhong Bae1Molecular Metabolic Engineering Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, KoreaMolecular Metabolic Engineering Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, KoreaPlant-associated endophytes define an important symbiotic association in nature and are established bio-reservoirs of plant-derived natural products. Endophytes colonize the internal tissues of a plant without causing any disease symptoms or apparent changes. Recently, there has been a growing interest in endophytes because of their beneficial effects on the production of novel metabolites of pharmacological significance. Studies have highlighted the socio-economic implications of endophytic fungi in agriculture, medicine, and the environment, with considerable success. Endophytic fungi-mediated biosynthesis of well-known metabolites includes taxol from <i>Taxomyces andreanae</i>, azadirachtin A and B from <i>Eupenicillium parvum</i>, vincristine from <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>, and quinine from <i>Phomopsis</i> sp. The discovery of the billion-dollar anticancer drug taxol was a landmark in endophyte biology/research and established new paradigms for the metabolic potential of plant-associated endophytes. In addition, endophytic fungi have emerged as potential prolific producers of antimicrobials, antiseptics, and antibiotics of plant origin. Although extensively studied as a “production platform” of novel pharmacological metabolites, the molecular mechanisms of plant–endophyte dynamics remain less understood/explored for their efficient utilization in drug discovery. The emerging trends in endophytic fungi-mediated biosynthesis of novel bioactive metabolites, success stories of key pharmacological metabolites, strategies to overcome the existing challenges in endophyte biology, and future direction in endophytic fungi-based drug discovery forms the underlying theme of this article.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/360anti-infectivesbioactive metabolitesbiosynthetic gene clusters (BCG)drug discoveryendophytic fungifungal pharmacology |
| spellingShingle | Pragya Tiwari Hanhong Bae Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery Microorganisms anti-infectives bioactive metabolites biosynthetic gene clusters (BCG) drug discovery endophytic fungi fungal pharmacology |
| title | Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery |
| title_full | Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery |
| title_fullStr | Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery |
| title_short | Endophytic Fungi: Key Insights, Emerging Prospects, and Challenges in Natural Product Drug Discovery |
| title_sort | endophytic fungi key insights emerging prospects and challenges in natural product drug discovery |
| topic | anti-infectives bioactive metabolites biosynthetic gene clusters (BCG) drug discovery endophytic fungi fungal pharmacology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/360 |
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