Abstract
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.
Highlights
IntroductionThe term endophyte refers to any organism (bacteria or fungi) that lives in the internal tissues of a host
The term endophyte refers to any organism that lives in the internal tissues of a host
Endophytic fungi were discovered over a century ago; it was not until about three decades ago, with the discovery of the taxol-producing endophytic fungus Taxomyces andreanae, that they gained remarkable relevance due to the abovementioned production of active secondary metabolites [7–10]
Summary
The term endophyte refers to any organism (bacteria or fungi) that lives in the internal tissues of a host. This endophyte–host association is complex: it is normally driven without causing harm or apparent disease symptoms and provides benefits in survival, fitness, biodiversity, and ecosystem function for both parties by enhancing the response to environmental stress and producing the same or similar compounds that originate in the host [1–3]. Fungal endophytes have been the focus of many studies due to their prospective promise in the production of secondary metabolites with pharmacological, agricultural, industrial, or biotechnological applications [4–6]. The present review covers patents related to the production of natural products with biomedical and agricultural applications using endophytic fungi, enabling the development of new lead compounds As was the case with taxol, the process for the isolation and purification of metabolites in adequate yields remains a major concern; low yields due to the exploitation of the host for the extraction process of metabolites are associated with environmental impacts, and new strategies such as involving the use of endophytic microorganisms instead of the host themselves have offered new niches that should be meticulously investigated and used as a base for sustainable research and development [11,12].
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