Fungal endophytes and bioprospecting

Horizontally transmitted fungal endophytes are an ecological group of fungi, mostly belonging to the Ascomycota, that reside in the aerial tissues and roots of plants without inducing any visual symptoms of their presence. These fungi appear to have a capacity to produce an array of secondary metabo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fungal biology reviews 2009-02, Vol.23 (1), p.9-19
Main Authors: Suryanarayanan, T.S., Thirunavukkarasu, N., Govindarajulu, M.B., Sasse, F., Jansen, R., Murali, T.S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ascomycota
Bioprospecting
Drug discovery
Endophytes
Fungal metabolites
Mycotechnology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Horizontally transmitted fungal endophytes are an ecological group of fungi, mostly belonging to the Ascomycota, that reside in the aerial tissues and roots of plants without inducing any visual symptoms of their presence. These fungi appear to have a capacity to produce an array of secondary metabolites exhibiting a variety of biological activity. Although the ability of fungi to produce unique bioactive metabolites is well known, endophytes have not been exploited, perhaps because we are only beginning to understand their distribution and biology. This review emphasizes the need to routinely include endophytic fungi in the screening of organisms for bioactive metabolites and novel drugs; it also underscores the need to use information obtained concerning fungal secondary metabolite production from other groups of fungi for a targeted screening approach.
ISSN:1749-4613
1878-0253
DOI:10.1016/j.fbr.2009.07.001