Chapter 11 - Endolichenic Fungi: A Potential Treasure Trove for Discovery of Special Structures and Bioactive Compounds

Abstract

Abstract Endolichenic fungi are microbes inhabiting asymptomatically in the thalli of lichens analogous to plant endophytes in the aspect of taxonomy, diversity, transmission mode, and evolutionary history. This review summarizes the source, chemistry, bioactivities, and biosynthetic pathway of natural products from endolichenic fungi. The effects of different methods of fermentation and extraction on the metabolites from endolichenic fungi are also discussed. In spite of the high diversity of discovered endolichenic fungi, limited investigations have been performed on the metabolites from them. Up to now, 176 compounds, some of which are found to exhibit promising antitumor and antifungal activities, have been revealed since the first report of metabolites from an endolichenic fungus in 2007. Further efforts on discovery of interesting bioactive compounds from endolichenic fungi, a potential treasure trove, are worthy.