Endophytes: the novel sources for plant terpenoid biosynthesis

Abstract

Terpenoids are natural compounds predominantly present in plants. They have many pharmaceutical and/or nutritional functions, and have been widely applied in medical, food, and cosmetics industries. Recently, terpenoids have been used in the clinical treatment of COVID-19 due to the good antiviral activities. The increasing demand for terpenoids in international markets poses a serious threat to many plant species. For environmentally sustainable development, microbial cell factories have been utilized as the promising platform to produce terpenoids. Nevertheless, the bioproduction of most terpenoids cannot meet commercial requirements due to the low cost-benefit ratio until now. The biosynthetic potential of endophytes has gained attention in recent decades owing to the continual discovery of endophytes capable of synthesizing plant bioactive compounds. Accordingly, endophytes could be alternative sources of terpenoid-producing strains or terpenoid synthetic genes. In this review, we summarized the research progress describing the main and supporting roles of endophytes in terpenoid biosynthesis and biotransformation, and discussed the current problems and challenges which may prevent the further exploitation. This review will improve our understanding of endophyte resources for terpenoid production in industry in the future. Key points • The mechanisms employed by endophytes in terpenoid synthesis in vivo and in vitro.• Endophytes have the commercial potentials in terpenoid bioproduction and biotransformation.• Synthetic biology and multiomics will improve terpenoid bioproduction in engineered cell factories.

Secondary Metabolite Production and Terpenoid Biosynthesis in Endophytic Fungi Cladosporium cladosporioides Isolated from Wild Cymbopogon martinii (Roxb.) Wats

“…These monoterpenoid compounds were produced in low percent-ages due to the poor catalytic activity of plant derived enzymes in the endophytic system (Sun et al, 2019). The monoterpenoid compounds and their precursors are known to express antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activities [7,58,59]. The present study revealed that the endophytic fungus F1 1 (C. cladosporioides) and the host plant share common Mevalonate (MVA) and Phenylpropanoid (PP) pathways as also documented in earlier studies [7,50].…”

“…The monoterpenoid compounds and their precursors are known to express antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activities [7,58,59]. The present study revealed that the endophytic fungus F1 1 (C. cladosporioides) and the host plant share common Mevalonate (MVA) and Phenylpropanoid (PP) pathways as also documented in earlier studies [7,50].…”

“…The essential oil of C. martinii possesses significant traditional medicinal properties and finds extensive usage in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, lumbago and spasms past from ancient times [5]. Furthermore, because of its potential activity it is used in preventing chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and coronary heart diseases as well as showing antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anthelmintic, antioxidant and cytotoxicity [6,7]. These compounds are produced against biotic and abiotic stress and help in defense mechanisms, communication and attracting pollinators [8].…”

In silicoprediction of natural compounds as potential multi-target inhibitors of structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2

“…Several well-characterized natural compounds have been documented for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and other beneficial effects on humans and animals thereby offering promising sources for drug development (Clark, 1996 ; El Sayed, 2000 ). Advancement in the synthetic biology also has accelerated the mass production of natural compounds (Chen et al, 2021 ). The ethno-medical literature has listed various herbal plants for their appealing antiviral activity (Ganjhu et al, 2015 ; Mukhtar et al, 2008 ; Potroz & Cho, 2015 ).…”

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Genes Involved in Sesquiterpene Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Trichoderma longibrachiatum MD33 and UN32

“…Endophytes are considered as potential alternatives for terpenoid bioproduction due to their long-term harmony and coevolution with plants ( Venugopalan and Srivastava, 2015 ). However, the main obstacles to the commercialization of endophytes are the low inner catalytic activity of plant-derived enzymes, lack of gene information regarding the biosynthesis pathway, and the silence of SM gene clusters ( Gupta et al, 2020 ; Qiao et al, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2021 ). Modern RNA-sequencing methods enable researchers to gain a quick and comprehensive understanding of the plant-derived compound biosynthesis pathway in endophytes, and determine the association between each individual gene and a phenotype ( Zhang et al, 2015 ; Qiao et al, 2020 ).…”