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Fungal Metabolites: their Ecological Role and Economic Potential

Direct detection of antifungal metabolites in fungal extracts on identical developed TLC plates: compounds revealed using chemical detection (anisaldehyde spray, heat; Top), areas of inhibition of fungal growth shown as white spots on grey background (conidial suspension of test fungi spray, incubate; Bottom).

More knowledge is needed to recognise how the generally invisible but ubiquitous fungi interact with their environment, and how they manage the resources available to them for ensuring their survival. At Kew we have begun to apply the accumulated knowledge and experiences on the ecological biochemistry of higher plants and insects, to that of fungi and insects, plants and fungi themselves.

Microorganisms including fungi are traditionally the most productive sources of biologically active substances, yet until 2000 virtually none of the living fungal collections at Kew had been systematically tested for biologically active secondary metabolites. In order to evaluate the importance of the collections as sources of biologically active metabolites a survey of the collection was started in 2000. By the end of 2005, 762 strains that originated in the UK have been studied. Each strain was grown in various growth media and the production of bioactive metabolites examined. The extracts were screened against a panel of test organisms (insects, fungi and bacteria) for their effects such as growth stimulation or retardancy in assay systems available in-house, and when appropriate, with external collaborators. The class Basidiomycetes in the phylum Basidiomycota registered most active ‘hits’, and these have been selected for further study. Since the fungi in this group are comparatively slow to grow, they have received less attention than the faster growing Ascomycetes from pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. The focus of the research now is to isolate and identify the active metabolites in these fungi. Following large scale cultivation of several species, over 50 compounds have been isolated and are currently being tested for activity.  The dihydroisocoumarin metabolites isolated from Cytospora eucalypticola had antifungal activity that could enable this fungus to inhibit other species from growing nearby.

A number of fungi produce a diverse array of secondary metabolites for their own benefit, such as attractants for insects that help disperse their spores. Yet such relationships between fungi and insects are highly detrimental to human health and can have detrimental effects to historical artefacts and our architectural heritage. Our work with English Heritage focuses on studying the chemistry that mediates the behaviour of deathwatch beetles and the fungus Donkioporia expansa, the selection behaviour of the furniture beetle and the growth of dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans on structural timbers (Pinus spp.).

We are also investigating the sustainable production and medicinal quality of fungi, such as Ganoderma, that are used in traditional medicine and have often been over-harvested from wild sources.

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