Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2018
Keywords
endophytic fungi, epigenetic modification, mangroves, screening, infectious disease drug discovery
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3390/md16100376
Abstract
There is an acute need for new and effective agents to treat infectious diseases. We conducted a screening program to assess the potential of mangrove-derived endophytic fungi as a source of new antibiotics. Fungi cultured in the presence and absence of small molecule epigenetic modulators were screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the ESKAPE panel of bacterial pathogens, as well as two eukaryotic infective agents, Leishmania donovani and Naegleria fowleri. By comparison of bioactivity data among treatments and targets, trends became evident, such as the result that more than 60% of active extracts were revealed to be selective to a single target. Validating the technique of using small molecules to dysregulate secondary metabolite production pathways, nearly half (44%) of those fungi producing active extracts only did so following histone deacetylase inhibitory (HDACi) or DNA methyltransferase inhibitory (DNMTi) treatment.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Marine Drugs, v. 16, issue 10, art. 376
Scholar Commons Citation
Demers, Danielle H.; Knestrick, Matthew A.; Fleeman, Renee; Tawfik, Rahmy; Azhari, Ala; and Souza, Ashley, "Exploitation of Mangrove Endophytic Fungi for Infectious Disease Drug Discovery" (2018). Chemistry Faculty Publications. 37.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/chm_facpub/37
