Mar. Drugs 2018, 16(10), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/md16100376
Exploitation of Mangrove Endophytic Fungi for Infectious Disease Drug Discovery
Danielle H. Demers 1, Matthew A. Knestrick 1, Renee Fleeman 2, Rahmy Tawfik 2, Ala Azhari 3, Ashley Souza 3, Brian Vesely 3, Mandy Netherton 4, Rashmi Gupta 4, Beatrice L. Colon 5, Christopher A. Rice 3
, Mario A. Rodríguez-Pérez 6, Kyle H. Rohde 4, Dennis E. Kyle 3, Lindsey N. Shaw 2 and Bill J. Baker 1,*
, Mario A. Rodríguez-Pérez 6, Kyle H. Rohde 4, Dennis E. Kyle 3, Lindsey N. Shaw 2 and Bill J. Baker 1,*
1
Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
2
Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
3
Department of Global Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33613, USA
4
Division of Immunity and Pathogenesis, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32827, USA
5
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33613, USA
6
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Blvd. del Maestro esq. Elías Piña s/n. Reynosa 88710, Tamaulipas, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 17 September 2018 / Revised: 3 October 2018 / Accepted: 5 October 2018 / Published: 10 October 2018
Abstract
There is an acute need for new and effective agents to treat infectious diseases. We conducted a screening program to assess the potential of mangrove-derived endophytic fungi as a source of new antibiotics. Fungi cultured in the presence and absence of small molecule epigenetic modulators were screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the ESKAPE panel of bacterial pathogens, as well as two eukaryotic infective agents, Leishmania donovani and Naegleria fowleri. By comparison of bioactivity data among treatments and targets, trends became evident, such as the result that more than 60% of active extracts were revealed to be selective to a single target. Validating the technique of using small molecules to dysregulate secondary metabolite production pathways, nearly half (44%) of those fungi producing active extracts only did so following histone deacetylase inhibitory (HDACi) or DNA methyltransferase inhibitory (DNMTi) treatment. View Full-TextKeywords:
endophytic fungi; epigenetic modification; mangroves; screening; infectious disease drug discovery
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Demers, D.H.; Knestrick, M.A.; Fleeman, R.; Tawfik, R.; Azhari, A.; Souza, A.; Vesely, B.; Netherton, M.; Gupta, R.; Colon, B.L.; Rice, C.A.; Rodríguez-Pérez, M.A.; Rohde, K.H.; Kyle, D.E.; Shaw, L.N.; Baker, B.J. Exploitation of Mangrove Endophytic Fungi for Infectious Disease Drug Discovery. Mar. Drugs 2018, 16, 376.
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