Comparison of the chemistry and diversity of endophytes isolated from wild-harvested and greenhouse-cultivated yerba mansa ().

With this study, we explored the identity and chemistry of fungal endophytes from the roots of yerba mansa [ (Nutt.) Hook. & Arn. (Saururaceae)], a botanical traditionally used to treat infection. We compared the diversity of fungal endophytes isolated from a wild-harvested population, and those from plants cultivated for one year in a greenhouse environment. The wild-harvested population yielded thirteen fungal strains (eleven unique genotypes). Of the extracts prepared from these fungi, four inhibited growth of by >25% at 20 µg/mL, and three inhibited growth of by ≥20% at 200 µg/mL. By comparison, roots after one year of cultivation in the greenhouse produced only two unique genotypes, neither of which displayed significant antimicrobial activity. The fungus isolated from wild-harvested yielded a new antimicrobial spirolactone, chaetocuprum (). An additional fourteen known compounds were identified using LC-MS dereplication of the various fungal endophytes. This study provides new insights into the identity and chemistry of fungal endophytes, and demonstrates the importance of considering growing conditions when pursuing natural product drug discovery from endophytic fungi.