Bioactive Compounds from four Endophytic Penicillium sp. of a Northwest Pacific Yew Tree

Cork Oak Endophytic Fungi as Potential Biocontrol Agents against Biscogniauxia mediterranea and Diplodia corticola

An increase in cork oak diseases caused by Biscogniauxia mediterranea and Diplodia corticola has been reported in the last decade. Due to the high socio-economic and ecologic importance of this plant species in the Mediterranean Basin, the search for preventive or treatment measures to control these diseases is an urgent need. Fungal endophytes were recovered from cork oak trees with different disease severity levels, using culture-dependent methods. The results showed a higher number of potential pathogens than beneficial fungi such as cork oak endophytes, even in healthy plants. The antagonist potential of a selection of eight cork oak fungal endophytes was tested against B. mediterranea and D. corticola by dual-plate assays. The tested endophytes were more efficient in inhibiting D. corticola than B. mediterranea growth, but Simplicillium aogashimaense, Fimetariella rabenhorstii, Chaetomium sp. and Alternaria alternata revealed a high potential to inhibit the growth of both. Simplicillium aogashimaense caused macroscopic and microscopic mycelial/hyphal deformations and presented promising results in controlling both phytopathogens' growth in vitro. The evaluation of the antagonistic potential of non-volatile and volatile compounds also revealed that A. alternata compounds could be further explored for inhibiting both pathogens. These findings provide valuable knowledge that can be further explored in in vivo assays to find a suitable biocontrol agent for these cork oak diseases.

A Perspective on the Phytopharmaceuticals Responsible for the Therapeutic Applications

The word phytopharmaceutical deals with a complex mixture of compounds derived from the plant source that is used as a medicine or drug. Primitive human societies have been depending on plants and plant products for various remedies. Several plants in the different forms have been reported in traditional medicine and to find a rational for the treatment of various diseases than to isolated single compounds. Many of the single compounds isolated from the plant origin are effectively used in the medicine. The search of natural products in drug discovery has been greatly enhanced in the last few years. The impetus to use phytopharmaceutical agents for the treatment of disease, most of the plant based drugs are quite safe and have lesser adverse effects and are claimed that it works as synergistic effects.

Natural products from plant-associated microorganisms: distribution, structural diversity, bioactivity, and implications of their occurrence

A growing body of evidence suggests that plant-associated microorganisms, especially endophytic and rhizosphere bacteria and fungi, represent a huge and largely untapped resource of natural products with chemical structures that have been optimized by evolution for biological and ecological relevance. A diverse array of bioactive small molecule natural products has been encountered in these microorganisms. The structures of over 230 metabolites isolated and characterized from over 70 plant-associated microbial strains during the past four years are presented with information on their hosts, culture conditions, and biological activities. Some significant biological and ecological implications of their occurrence are also reviewed.

Sequoiatones C-f, constituents of the redwood endophyte Aspergillus parasiticus

Aspergillus parasiticus, a fungal isolate from a coast redwood tree (Sequoia sempervirens), has been shown to produce four new compounds, sequoiatones C-F (1-4). The structures of these compounds, all of which are cytotoxic to brine shrimp, were deduced by spectral analysis.