Pestalotiopsis pauciseta

Pestalotiopsis pauciseta is an endophytic fungi isolated from the leaves of several medicinal plants in tropical climates.^[1][2][3][4] Pestalotiopsis pauciseta is known for its role in medical mycology, having the ability to produce a chemical compound called paclitaxel (taxol). Taxol is the first billion-dollar anticancer drug, notably the fungal-taxol produced by Pestalotiopsis pauciseta was determined to be comparable to standard taxol.^[5]

Pestalotiopsis pauciseta
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Sordariomycetes
Order:	Amphisphaeriales
Family:	Sporocadaceae
Genus:	Pestalotiopsis
Species:	P. pauciseta
Binomial name
Pestalotiopsis pauciseta (Sacc.) Y.X. Chen
Synonyms
Pestalotia pauciseta Sacc.

Taxonomy

Pestalotiopsis pauciseta was initially described by Pier Andrea Saccardo as Pestalotia pauciseta  in 1914,^[6] and was later changed to the genus Pestalotiopsis by authors Chen, Y.X.; Wei, G. in 1993.^[7]

Description

Pestalotiopsis pauciseta has amphigenous pustules, which can range from globose to lenticular in shape, usually black, scattered and hemispherical (80-200μm). Conidiomata are eustromatic, cupulate, can be found separated or confluent, and are initially dark brown in color when immersed. After immersion, conidiomata are erumpent, thick walled, and irregularly dehisce.^{[citation needed]}

Habitat/distribution

Many species of Pestalotiopsis are saprobes in soil, degraders of plant matter, or organisms growing upon rotting wild fruits. Others are plant pathogens or occupy plant leaves and twigs as endophytes.^[8] Species of Pestalotiopsis have been repeatedly isolated as saprobes from dead leaves, bark, and twigs. Species have been isolated from polluted stream water and are associated with the deterioration of wood, paper, fabrics, and decay of wool.^[9] The genus Pestalotiopsis are known as plant pathogens; P. pauciseta isolated as endophytes, likely has endophytic and pathogenic stages.

Bioactivity

Taxol chemical structure

Fungal-taxol is an anticancer compound that has been developed into a medication used to treat ovarian, lung, breast, and head and neck cancers.^[3][10] The UV absorption spectrum of taxol isolated from Pestalotiopsis pauciseta VM1 was similar to that of standard taxol with maximum absorption at 235 nm and 232 nm.^[5]

More than 130 unique compounds have been isolated from various species of Pestalotiopsis. Antifungal, anticancer, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities are some of the most significant bioactivities of secondary metabolites isolated from this genus.^[11][8] It is suspected that P. pauciseta is one of many fungal plant endophytes that has the ability to produce bioactive compounds that are originally from their host plant.^[12]

References

1. Gangadevi, V.; Murugan, M.; Muthumary, J. (August 2008). "Taxol determination from Pestalotiopsis pauciseta, a fungal endophyte of a medicinal plant". Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao = Chinese Journal of Biotechnology. 24 (8): 1433–1438. doi:10.1016/s1872-2075(08)60065-5. ISSN 1000-3061. PMID 18998547.
2. Jeewon, Rajesh; Liew, Edward C.Y.; Simpson, Jack A.; John Hodgkiss, I.; Hyde, Kevin D. (June 2003). "Phylogenetic significance of morphological characters in the taxonomy of Pestalotiopsis species". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 27 (3): 372–383. doi:10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00010-1. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 12742743.
3. Vennila, R.; Muthumary, J. (April 2011). "Taxol from Pestalotiopsis pauciseta VM1, an endophytic fungus of Tabebuia pentaphylla". Biomedicine & Preventive Nutrition. 1 (2): 103–108. doi:10.1016/j.bionut.2010.12.005. ISSN 2210-5239.
4. Yang, Xiao-Long; Zhang, Jing-Ze; Luo, Du-Qiang (2012). "The taxonomy, biology and chemistry of the fungal Pestalotiopsis genus". Natural Product Reports. 29 (6): 622–641. doi:10.1039/c2np00073c. ISSN 0265-0568. PMID 22249927.
5. Kumar, Pradeep; Singh, Balwant; Thakur, Vikram; Thakur, Abhishek; Thakur, Nandita; Pandey, Deepak; Chand, Duni (2019). "Hyper-production of taxol from Aspergillus fumigatus, an endophytic fungus isolated from Taxus sp. of the Northern Himalayan region". Biotechnology Reports. 24: e00395. doi:10.1016/j.btre.2019.e00395. PMC 6881681. PMID 31799144.
6. "Index Fungorum - Names Record". www.indexfungorum.org. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
7. taxonomy. "Taxonomy browser (Pestalotiopsis pauciseta)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
8. Xu, Jing; Ebada, Sherif S.; Proksch, Peter (2010-08-13). "Pestalotiopsis a highly creative genus: chemistry and bioactivity of secondary metabolites". Fungal Diversity. 44 (1): 15–31. doi:10.1007/s13225-010-0055-z. ISSN 1560-2745. S2CID 20858748.
9. Maharachchikumbura, Sajeewa S. N.; Guo, Liang-Dong; Chukeatirote, Ekachai; Bahkali, Ali H.; Hyde, Kevin D. (2011-08-31). "Pestalotiopsis—morphology, phylogeny, biochemistry and diversity". Fungal Diversity. 50 (1): 167–187. doi:10.1007/s13225-011-0125-x. ISSN 1560-2745. S2CID 258250.
10. Vennila, R.; Kamalraj, S.; Muthumary, J. (January 2012). "In vitro studies on anticancer activity of fungal taxol against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 cells". Biomedicine & Aging Pathology. 2 (1): 16–18. doi:10.1016/j.biomag.2012.01.001. ISSN 2210-5220.
11. Guevara-Suarez, Marcela; Sutton, Deanna A.; Cano-Lira, José F.; García, Dania; Martin-Vicente, Adela; Wiederhold, Nathan; Guarro, Josep; Gené, Josepa (August 2016). "Identification and Antifungal Susceptibility of Penicillium-Like Fungi from Clinical Samples in the United States". Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 54 (8): 2155–2161. doi:10.1128/jcm.00960-16. ISSN 0095-1137. PMC 4963513. PMID 27280422.
12. Zhao, J (January 2010). "Endophytic Fungi for Producing Bioactive Compounds Originally From Their Host Plants". Topics in Applied Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology.