Research article summary (published 4 Jul 2009):

Screening of species of the endophytic fungus Phomopsis for the production of the anticancer drug taxol.

Full Abstract

Three different strains of the endophytic fungus Phomopsis were isolated from the healthy leaves of Taxus cuspidata (Japanese yew), Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo or maidenhair tree) and Larix leptolepis (Japanese larch) and screened for the production of taxol on a modified liquid medium for the first time. The presence of taxol was confirmed by spectroscopic and chromatographic analyses. The amount of taxol produced by this fungus was quantified by HPLC. The maximum amount of fungal taxol production was recorded as 418 microg/litre in the strain BKH 27. The yield was increased to 8360-fold that found for the fungus Taxomyces andreanae reported previously [Stierle, Strobel and Stierle (1993) Science 260, 214-216]. The fungal taxol extracted also showed a strong cytotoxicity towards the human cancer cells in an apoptosis assay. All the three isolates showed positive sign towards PCR for the conserved sequence of the taxadiene synthase gene. The results suggest that Phomopsis could be an excellent alternative source for taxol and may serve as a potential genetic-engineered species for the enhanced production of taxol.

Author information

Author/s: Kumaran, Rangarajulu Senthil (RS); Hur, Byung-Ki (BK);

Affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Inha University, Yonghyun-Dong, Nam-Gu, Incheon, South Korea. kumaran_rs75(-atsign-)rediffmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Biotechnology and applied biochemistry (Biotechnol Appl Biochem), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 54 (issue 1) : pp 21-30

Dates: Created 2009/07/06; Completed 2009/09/14; Revised 2009/09/21;

PMID: 19067652, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/21/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; metabolism; pharmacology Apoptosis - drug effects Ascomycota - chemistry; cytology; isolation & purification; metabolism Cell Line, Tumor Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Thin Layer Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor Fungal Proteins - genetics Ginkgo biloba - microbiology

Humans Isomerases - genetics Larix - microbiology Paclitaxel - biosynthesis; chemistry; pharmacology Polymerase Chain Reaction Spectrophotometry, Infrared Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet Spores, Fungal - ultrastructure Taxus - microbiology

Associated Chemicals: Antineoplastic Agents (0) ; Fungal Proteins (0) ; Paclitaxel (33069-62-4) ; Isomerases (EC 5.-) ; taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene synthase (EC 5.-)

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