Beneficial uses of plant pathogens: anticancer and drug agents derived from plant pathogens1

Abstract

There are many examples, in the modern pharmacopeia, of useful medications that have been derived from plants and other living materials in the natural world. The emergence of Taxol™ (paclitaxel) as an effective treatment of ovarian and possibly other cancers has enhanced the interest of pharmacologists worldwide for the search, in the natural world, of anticancer agents and other effective remedies to combat human diseases. A promising source for known effective agents and new drugs are plant pathogens such as fungi. Recent studies have determined that a fungus (Taxomyces andreanae Strobel, Stierle, & Hess) isolated from the inner bark of the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia Nutt.) produces paclitaxel (Taxol™) and other taxanes in de novo fashion, providing an easy and possibly inexhaustible source of these important chemicals. Lichens that live on plants may also prove to contain useful chemicals, which could be exploited in modern medicine. A survey of the current literature indicates that the natural world will continue to provide such type of medications in the decades ahead, possibly from as yet unexploited sources, such as plant pathogens.