TERRESTRIAL AND MARINE-DERIVED FUNGI AS SOURCES OF INTERESTING MOLECULES FOR DRUG DISCOVERY
Abstract
Fungi are prolific producers of biologically active secondary metabolites. Driven by millions of years of co-evolution, these organisms have developed intricate chemical defenses and symbiotic interactions to compete and survive alongside other microorganisms in complex ecosystems. These complex biological networks lead to the production of essential medicinal compounds, including antibiotics such as penicillin, cephalosporins and fusidic acid that revolutionized bacterial therapy, immunosuppressant drugs such as cyclosporine that have transformed the field of organ transplantation, and cardiovascular agents such as statins, which are widely used for lowering cholesterol. Since the marine environment presents different physical and chemical conditions from the land, it can be an extraordinary reservoir of bioactive compounds, many of which possess unique structural features and novel modes of action. For this reason, researchers have been focusing more of their attention on marine-derived fungi as a source of interesting bioactive compounds since many consider them as one of the still untapped resources for new and biologically relevant chemical entities.
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