GNPS is an open-access community-curated analysis platform for sharing natural product mass spectrometry data that enables continuous, automatic reanalysis of deposited 'living' data sets. The potential of the diverse chemistries present in natural products (NP) for biotechnology and medicine remains untapped because NP databases are not searchable with raw data and the NP community has no way to share data other than in published papers. Although mass spectrometry (MS) techniques are well-suited to high-throughput characterization of NP, there is a pressing need for an infrastructure to enable sharing and curation of data. We present Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS; http://gnps.ucsd.edu ), an open-access knowledge base for community-wide organization and sharing of raw, processed or identified tandem mass (MS/MS) spectrometry data. In GNPS, crowdsourced curation of freely available community-wide reference MS libraries will underpin improved annotations. Data-driven social-networking should facilitate identification of spectra and foster collaborations. We also introduce the concept of 'living data' through continuous reanalysis of deposited data.
Among microorganisms, endophytic fungi are the least studied, but they have attracted attention due to their high biological diversity and ability to produce novel and bioactive secondary metabolites to protect their host plant against biotic and abiotic stress. These compounds belong to different structural classes, such as alkaloids, peptides, terpenoids, polyketides, and steroids, which could present significant biological activities that are useful for pharmacological or medical applications. Recent reviews on endophytic fungi have mainly focused on the production of novel bioactive compounds. Here, we focus on compounds produced by endophytic fungi, reported with uncommon bioactive structures, establishing the neighbor net and diversity of endophytic fungi. The review includes compounds published from January 2015 to December 2020 that were catalogued as unprecedented, rare, uncommon, or possessing novel structural skeletons from more than 39 different genera, with Aspergillus and Penicillium being the most mentioned. They were reported as displaying cytotoxic, antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, or anti-inflammatory activity. The solid culture, using rice as a carbon source, was the most common medium utilized in the fermentation process when this type of compound was isolated.
Endophytic fungi are an important group of microorganisms and one of the least studied. They enhance their host’s resistance against abiotic stress, disease, insects, pathogens and mammalian herbivores by producing secondary metabolites with a wide spectrum of biological activity. Therefore, they could be an alternative source of secondary metabolites for applications in medicine, pharmacy and agriculture. In this review, we analyzed patents related to the production of secondary metabolites and biotransformation processes through endophytic fungi and their fields of application. We examined 245 patents (224 related to secondary metabolite production and 21 for biotransformation). The most patented fungi in the development of these applications belong to the Aspergillus, Fusarium, Trichoderma, Penicillium, and Phomopsis genera and cover uses in the biomedicine, agriculture, food, and biotechnology industries.
Coral reefs are intricate ecosystems that harbor diverse organisms, including 25% of all marine fish. Healthy corals exhibit a complex symbiosis between coral polyps, endosymbiotic alga, and an array of microorganisms, called the coral holobiont. Secretion of specialized metabolites by coral microbiota is thought to contribute to the defense of this sessile organism against harmful biotic and abiotic factors. While few causative agents of coral diseases have been unequivocally identified, fungi have been implicated in the massive destruction of some soft corals worldwide. Because corals are nocturnal feeders, they may be more vulnerable to fungal infection at night, and we hypothesized that the coral microbiota would have the capability to enhance their defenses against fungi in the dark. A Pseudoalteromonas sp. isolated from a healthy octocoral displayed light-dependent antifungal properties when grown adjacent to Penicilliumcitrinum (P. citrinum) isolated from a diseased Gorgonian octocoral. Microbial MALDI-imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) coupled with molecular network analyses revealed that Pseudoalteromonas produced higher levels of antifungal polyketide alteramides in the dark than in the light. The alteramides were inactivated by light through a photoinduced intramolecular cyclization. Further NMR studies led to a revision of the stereochemical structure of the alteramides. Alteramide A exhibited antifungal properties and elicited changes in fungal metabolite distributions of mycotoxin citrinin and citrinadins. These data support the hypothesis that coral microbiota use abiotic factors such as light to regulate the production of metabolites with specialized functions to combat opportunistic pathogens at night.
The inflammatory response is a highly regulated process, and its dysregulation can lead to the establishment of chronic inflammation and, in some cases, to death. Inflammation is the cause of several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, multiple sclerosis, and asthma. The search for agents inhibiting inflammation is a great challenge as the inflammatory response plays an important role in the defense of the host to infections. Marine invertebrates are exceptional sources of new natural products, and among those diterpenoids secondary metabolites exhibit notable anti‐inflammatory properties. Novel anti‐inflammatory diterpenoids, exclusively produced by marine organisms, have been identified and synthetic molecules based on those structures have been obtained. The anti‐inflammatory activity of marine diterpenoids has been attributed to the inhibition of Nuclear Factor‐κB activation and to the modulation of arachidonic acid metabolism. However, more research is necessary to describe the mechanisms of action of these secondary metabolites. This review is a compilation of marine diterpenoids, mainly isolated from corals, which have been described as potential anti‐inflammatory molecules.
Plant endophytic fungi spend all or part of their lives inside host tissues without causing disease symptoms. They can colonize the plant to protect against predators, pathogens and abiotic stresses generated by drought, salinity, high concentrations of heavy metals, UV radiation and temperature fluctuations. They can also promote plant growth through the biosynthesis of phytohormones and nutrient acquisition. In recent years, the study of endophytic fungi for biological control of plant diseases and pests has been intensified to try to reduce the ecological and public health impacts due the use of chemicals and the emergence of fungicide resistance. In this review, we examine 185 patents related to endophytic fungi (from January 1988 to December 2019) and discuss their applicability for abiotic stress tolerance and growth promotion of plants, as agents for biocontrol of herbivores and plant pathogens and bio- and phytoremediation applications