Phaeophleospora vochysiae Savi & Glienke sp. nov. Isolated from Vochysia divergens Found in the Pantanal, Brazil, Produces Bioactive Secondary Metabolites

Abstract

Microorganisms associated with plants are highly diverse and can produce a large number of secondary metabolites, with antimicrobial, anti-parasitic and cytotoxic activities. We are particularly interested in exploring endophytes from medicinal plants found in the Pantanal, a unique and widely unexplored wetland in Brazil. In a bio-prospecting study, strains LGMF1213 and LGMF1215 were isolated as endophytes from Vochysia divergens, and by morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses were characterized as Phaeophleospora vochysiae sp. nov. The chemical assessment of this species reveals three major compounds with high biological activity, cercoscosporin (1), isocercosporin (2) and the new compound 3-(sec-butyl)-6-ethyl-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-6-methylcyclohex-2-enone (3). Besides the isolation of P. vochysiae as endophyte, the production of cercosporin compounds suggest that under specific conditions this species causes leaf spots, and may turn into a pathogen, since leaf spots are commonly caused by species of Cercospora that produce related compounds. In addition, the new compound 3-(sec-butyl)-6-ethyl-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-6-methylcyclohex-2-enone showed considerable antimicrobial activity and low cytotoxicity, which needs further exploration.

Endophytes of Brazilian Medicinal Plants With Activity Against Phytopathogens

“…Additionally, Vochysia divergens Pohl (Vochysiaceae) is one of the main medicinal tree species in the Pantanal region (de Carvalho Filho et al, 2021). Endophytic fungi reported by V. divergens have been showed antimicrobial, antifungal and cytotoxicity activities (Hokama et al, 2016;Savi et al, 2018;Noriler et al, 2018Noriler et al, , 2019. Considering the need for more effective treatments of plant diseases caused by citrus and maize pathogens, the present study identified fungal endophytes of two medicinal plants, V. divergens and S. adstringens, and investigated their antimicrobial potential against the citrus pathogens C. abscissum, P. citricarpa, and X. citri subsp.…”

“…Endophytes are microorganisms that reside within the internal tissues of living plants, without visibly harming the host ( Quiroga et al, 2001 ; Hardoim et al, 2015 ). These microorganisms, when associated with medicinal plants, possess high potential to produce new bioactive metabolites ( Savi et al, 2018 , 2019a ; Singh et al, 2021 ). Microorganisms have been regarded as a promising source with the most potential for structurally novel antifungal metabolites because of the isolation of many natural fungicides from the microbial resource ( Copping and Duke, 2007 ; Pham et al, 2019 ).…”

Bioprospecting and Structure of Fungal Endophyte Communities Found in the Brazilian Biomes, Pantanal, and Cerrado

“…In the last years, medicinal plants have gained great importance as a reservoir of new endophytic strains with biotechnological potential (Gomes et al, 2013 ; Köberl et al, 2013 ; Savi et al, 2018 ). The endophyte-host interaction can interfere with the plant growth, development, and defense against pathogens and insects (Murali et al, 2007 ; Santoyo et al, 2016 ).…”

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“…LGMB259, an endophytic Actinomycetes isolated from V. divergens, produces antibacterial β-carbolines and Brazilian Applied Science Review, Curitiba, v.5, n.2, p. 1244-1254 mar./abr..2021 indoles (Savi et al, 2015;Gos et al, 2017). Additionally, Savi et al, (2018) isolated the new endophyte Phaeophleospora vochysiae from V. divergens and found that this endophyte produces (+)-cercosporin, (+)-isocercosporin, and the new compound 3-(secbutyl)-6-ethyl-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-6-methylcyclohex-2-enone. Noriler et al, (2018) conducted a bioprospection of the V. divergens endophytic community.…”