Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Microb Biotechnol. 2024 Feb;17(2):e14382. doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.14382. Epub 2024 Feb 12.
Among the plant-associated microorganisms, the so-called endophytes continue to attract much attention because of their ability not only to protect host plants from biotic and abiotic stress factors, but also the potential to produce bioactive secondary metabolites. The latter property can elicit growth-promoting effects on plants, as well as boost the production of plant-specific secondary metabolites with valuable pharmacological properties. In addition, endophyte-derived secondary metabolites may be a rich source for the discovery of drugs to treat various diseases, including infections and cancer. However, the full potential of endophytes to produce bioactive secondary metabolites is often not revealed upon conventional cultivation in the laboratory. New advances in genomics and metabolic engineering offer exciting opportunities for the exploration and exploitation of endophytes' biosynthetic potential. This review focuses on bacterial endophytes of medicinal plants, some of their secondary metabolites and recent advances in deciphering their biosynthesis. The latter may assist in genetic engineering efforts aimed at the discovery of novel bioactive compounds with the potential to be developed into drugs.
在与植物相关的微生物中，所谓的内生菌因其不仅能够保护宿主植物免受生物和非生物胁迫因素的影响，而且具有产生生物活性次生代谢物的潜力而继续引起广泛关注。后一种特性可以对植物产生促进生长的作用，并提高具有有价值的药理特性的植物特异性次生代谢物的产量。此外，内生菌衍生的次生代谢物可能是发现治疗各种疾病（包括感染和癌症）药物的丰富来源。然而，内生菌产生生物活性次生代谢物的全部潜力在常规实验室培养中往往没有显现出来。基因组学和代谢工程的新进展为探索和利用内生菌的生物合成潜力提供了令人兴奋的机会。本综述重点介绍药用植物的细菌内生菌、它们的一些次生代谢物以及最近在破译它们的生物合成方面的进展。这可能有助于旨在发现具有开发潜力的新型生物活性化合物的遗传工程努力。
