The impact of Andean Patagonian mycoflora in the search for new lead molecules

Abstract

Secondary metabolites from fungi have become a major source of chemical innovation in programs searching for lead molecules with bioactivities, especially over the last 50 years. In this review, we discuss the fundamental considerations in the discovery of molecules for agricultural and medicinal uses. This group of organisms possesses a strong potential for scientific and industrial communities. Recently, the incorporation of new technologies for the artificial cultivation of fungi and the use of better equipment to isolate and identify active metabolites has allowed the discovery of leading molecules for the design of new and safer drugs and pesticides. The geographical region including the Patagonian Andes mountains harbors a wide diversity of fungi, many of them still unknown and so far associated with Chilean-Argentinian Andean endemic forests. There have been very few chemical studies of the fungi located in this region. However, those few studies have allowed the discovery of new molecules. We argue that the richness of fungal biodiversity in this region offers an interesting source for the discovery of bioactive molecules for the basic and applied sciences.