Chemical properties of key metabolites determine the global distribution of lichens

Schweiger, Andreas; Ullmann, G. Matthias; Nürk, Nicolai M.; Triebel, Dagmar; Schobert, Rainer; Rambold, Gerhard

doi:10.1111/ele.13930

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…The symbiotic association, found in lichens, is a type of coevolution that allows these species to be distributed in a cosmopolitan pattern from polar to desert areas. Recent studies suggest that the production of secondary metabolites plays an important role in their environmental adaptation, and thus in their global distribution [ 102 ]. For instance, fumarprotocetraric acid from Cetraria islandica is related with the heavy metal tolerance of lichens due to its role in their reduction of metal ion absorption in the apoplast.…”

Section: Phytochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Genus Cetraria s. str.—A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses and Pharmacology

et al. 2022

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The genus Cetraria s. str. (Parmeliaceae family, Cetrarioid clade) consists of 15 species of mostly erect brown or greenish yellow fruticose or subfoliose thallus. These Cetraria species have a cosmopolitan distribution, being primarily located in the Northern Hemisphere, in North America and in the Eurasia area. Phytochemical analysis has demonstrated the presence of dibenzofuran derivatives (usnic acid), depsidones (fumarprotocetraric and protocetraric acids) and fatty acids (lichesterinic and protolichesterinic acids). The species of Cetraria, and more particularly Cetraria islandica, has been widely employed in folk medicine for the treatment of digestive and respiratory diseases as decoctions, tinctures, aqueous extract, and infusions. Moreover, Cetraria islandica has had an important nutritional and cosmetic value. These traditional uses have been validated in in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies. Additionally, new therapeutic activities are being investigated, such as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic. Among all Cetraria species, the most investigated by far has been Cetraria islandica, followed by Cetraria pinastri and Cetraria aculeata. The aim of the current review is to update all the knowledge about the genus Cetraria covering aspects that include taxonomy and phylogeny, morphology and distribution, ecological and environmental interest, phytochemistry, traditional uses and pharmacological properties.

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Section: Phytochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Genus Cetraria s. str.—A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses and Pharmacology

et al. 2022

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“…Lichens are naturally occurring, stable microorganisms, and they are mutually beneficial organic complexes with a complex composition of fungal and chlorophyll organisms [1,2]. Mutualistic symbiosis is the biologically distinctive characteristic that allows lichens to be differentiated from other common plants [3]. Among the symbiotic microorganisms existing in lichens, ascomycetes are the pivotal symbiotic fungi that account for their fungi diversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is well known that lichens can be readily encountered in nature, ranging from the North and South Poles to the equator, from mountains to plains, forests to deserts, and land to sea [5][6][7][8][9]. Due to their complex environmental living conditions, they display an outstanding capacity to produce numerous intriguing bioactive secondary metabolites to resist external habitat stresses [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endolichenic Fungi: A Promising Medicinal Microbial Resource to Discover Bioactive Natural Molecules—An Update

Zhang,

Ran,

et al. 2024

JoF

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Lichens are some of the most unique fungi and are naturally encountered as symbiotic biological organisms that usually consist of fungal partners (mycobionts) and photosynthetic organisms (green algae and cyanobacteria). Due to their distinctive growth environments, including hot deserts, rocky coasts, Arctic tundra, toxic slag piles, etc., they produce a variety of biologically meaningful and structurally novel secondary metabolites to resist external environmental stresses. The endofungi that live in and coevolve with lichens can also generate abundant secondary metabolites with novel structures, diverse skeletons, and intriguing bioactivities due to their mutualistic symbiosis with hosts, and they have been considered as strategically significant medicinal microresources for the discovery of pharmaceutical lead compounds in the medicinal industry. They are also of great importance in the fundamental research field of natural product chemistry. In this work, we conducted a comprehensive review and systematic evaluation of the secondary metabolites of endolichenic fungi regarding their origin, distribution, structural characteristics, and biological activity, as well as recent advances in their medicinal applications, by summarizing research achievements since 2015. Moreover, the current research status and future research trends regarding their chemical components are discussed and predicted. A systematic review covering the fundamental chemical research advances and pharmaceutical potential of the secondary metabolites from endolichenic fungi is urgently required to facilitate our better understanding, and this review could also serve as a critical reference to provide valuable insights for the future research and promotion of natural products from endolichenic fungi.

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“…Evidence from lichen fossils indicated that the interactions between fungi and algae have existed for at least 400 million years (Lücking and Nelsen, 2018 ), and studies have shown that lichen occurs over 10% of the terrestrial surface, especially extreme and aggressive environmental conditions that are not conducive to individual survival, such as extreme cold Arctic and Antarctic regions (Lee et al, 2014 ), hot and arid deserts (Kranner et al, 2008 ), alpine areas with strong UV irradiation, and on rocks or non-fertile soils (de Vera et al, 2003 ; Seymour et al, 2005 ; Boustie et al, 2010 ; Nguyen et al, 2013 ). This tendency of lichens to tolerate the extreme environment can be correlated with the production of both a unique and diverse range of metabolites known as lichen substances (Schweiger et al, 2022 ). Fungi and algae co-evolved unique biosynthetic pathways and metabolic mechanisms to synthesize these complex metabolites over a long period of time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery and excavation of lichen bioactive natural products

et al. 2023

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Lichen natural products are a tremendous source of new bioactive chemical entities for drug discovery. The ability to survive in harsh conditions can be directly correlated with the production of some unique lichen metabolites. Despite the potential applications, these unique metabolites have been underutilized by pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries due to their slow growth, low biomass availability, and technical challenges involved in their artificial cultivation. At the same time, DNA sequence data have revealed that the number of encoded biosynthetic gene clusters in a lichen is much higher than in natural products, and the majority of them are silent or poorly expressed. To meet these challenges, the one strain many compounds (OSMAC) strategy, as a comprehensive and powerful tool, has been developed to stimulate the activation of silent or cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters and exploit interesting lichen compounds for industrial applications. Furthermore, the development of molecular network techniques, modern bioinformatics, and genetic tools is opening up a new opportunity for the mining, modification, and production of lichen metabolites, rather than merely using traditional separation and purification techniques to obtain small amounts of chemical compounds. Heterologous expressed lichen-derived biosynthetic gene clusters in a cultivatable host offer a promising means for a sustainable supply of specialized metabolites. In this review, we summarized the known lichen bioactive metabolites and highlighted the application of OSMAC, molecular network, and genome mining-based strategies in lichen-forming fungi for the discovery of new cryptic lichen compounds.

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Chemical properties of key metabolites determine the global distribution of lichens

Cited by 9 publications

References 56 publications

The Genus Cetraria s. str.—A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses and Pharmacology

The Genus Cetraria s. str.—A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses and Pharmacology

Endolichenic Fungi: A Promising Medicinal Microbial Resource to Discover Bioactive Natural Molecules—An Update

Discovery and excavation of lichen bioactive natural products

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