Chapter 15 - Insights into the bioactive compounds of endophytic fungi in mangroves

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are the useful organisms that reside inside the host plant tissue without causing any damage or showing visible symptoms to the host, but are widely recognized as reservoirs of significant bioactive compounds. The later can be pragmatic for pharmaceutical uses, agricultural purposes, and the production of several useful products. Secondary metabolites produced by the endophytic fungi exhibit antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities toward human as well as plant pathogens, and are also capable of producing various extracellular enzymes which can be used in different industries. They occur in both terrestrial and marine environments. The mangroves have been studied in detail from this perspective, where these associates are capable of producing various novel compounds with unique structural formulae via metabolic pathways and thus can resist the unadorned conditions. Fusarium oxysporum, a member of this group, has been isolated from a well-known mangrove species, Rhizophora annamalayana. It has been found to produce taxol, which was previously obtained from Taxus baccata. This discovery has opened up a way for progress in the investigations in this direction. Many new findings are expected in the future from the mangrove endophytic fungi. An attempt is made here to elucidate their role in various biological processes.