Natural trypanocidal product produced by endophytic fungi through co-culturing

Abstract

Endophytic fungi live inside vegetal tissues without causing damage to the host plant and may provide lead compounds for drug discovery. The co-culture of two or more endophytic fungi can trigger silent gene clusters, which could lead to the isolation of bioactive compounds. In this study, two endophytic strains isolated from Handroanthus impetiginosus leaves, identified as Talaromyces purpurogenus H4 and Phanerochaete sp. H2, were grown in mixed and axenic cultures. The meroterpenoid austin was detected only in the extracts from the mixed culture. Once isolated, austin displayed very interesting trypanocidal activity, with an IC 50 value of 36.6 ± 1.2 μg/mL against Trypanosoma cruzi in the epimastigote form. The results obtained highlight the importance of the co-culturing of endophytic fungi to obtain natural bioactive products. The findings also enhance our understanding of the ecological relationships between endophytic fungi.

Deep learning approaches for natural product discovery from plant endophytic microbiomes

“…and plants [123,163,164]. Generally, most evidence for cooperative exchange comes from laboratory co-cultivation studies, suggesting fungi-fungi and bacteria-fungi interactions may impact SM production [165,166]. Indeed, it is the rule, rather than the exception in microbial communities that multiple species may exchange a plethora metaboliteshence, classical models of inter-species metabolite exchange [167].…”

Computer‐Guided Trypanocidal Activity of Natural Lactones Produced by Endophytic Fungus of Euphorbia umbellata

“…It is well established that secondary metabolites are aimed at the development of new antitumoral, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antiparasitic leads. For instance, an endophytic fungus isolated from Daphnopsis americana produced guanacastepene, one diterpene which was active against both methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin‐resistant Enterococcus faecium ; [10] the benzoquinone hinnuliquinone, a potent HIV protease inhibitor, was produced by an endophytic fungus associated with the Quercus coccifera leaves; [11] a trypanocidal meroterpenoid was produced by co‐culture of two endophytic fungi associated with Handroanthus impetiginosus [12] …”

“…There is an urgent need for new drugs capable of improving the toxicity profile of existing drugs of Chagas’ disease therapy, and it has stimulated our group to screen natural products against T. cruzi [12] . The Brazilian endophytic fungi have proven to be an important reservoir of natural products with significant variability of chemical structures and bioactivities [16] .…”

“…For instance, an endophytic fungus isolated from Daphnopsis americana produced guanacastepene, one diterpene which was active against both methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium; [10] the benzoquinone hinnuliquinone, a potent HIV protease inhibitor, was produced by an endophytic fungus associated with the Quercus coccifera leaves; [11] a trypanocidal meroterpenoid was produced by co-culture of two endophytic fungi associated with Handroanthus impetiginosus. [12] After structure elucidation, the target identification of bioactive natural products constitutes a crucial step in both academic and pharmaceutical research. [13] Traditional approaches from natural products drug development have been highly benefited by their association with in silico prediction methods, which could provide valuable insights for further bioassays.…”

“…[15] There is an urgent need for new drugs capable of improving the toxicity profile of existing drugs of Chagas' disease therapy, and it has stimulated our group to screen natural products against T. cruzi. [12] The Brazilian endophytic fungi have proven to be an important reservoir of natural products with significant variability of chemical structures and bioactivities. [16] As part of continuous efforts to achieve bioactive secondary metabolites from Brazilian endophytic fungi, we are reporting herein the isolation and chemical identification of three natural lactones biosynthesized by an endophytic fungus from Euphorbia umbellata (Pax) Bruyns.…”