Ide sequestration, release and ecology of the anticancer drug Taxol from fungal endophytes

9^th Annual European Pharma Congress

June 26-28, 2017 Madrid, Spain

Sameh Soliman

UOS, UAE
University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Pharmaceut Reg Affairs

Abstract :

Taxol is produced by Taxus trees and their resident endophytic fungi. A mystery has been why these endophytes synthesize Taxol apparently redundantly. A defining feature of these trees is that they can propagate branches from long-lived buds that lie underneath the bark; branch emergence is accompanied by bark cracks, potential pathogen entry points. Here, we show that Taxol acts as a fungicide against wood decaying fungi (WDF) to which these long-lived trees are susceptible. Reducing endophytes in plants resulted in increased WDF growth. Endophytes sequestered Taxol in intracellular hydrophobic bodies (Hb), which prevented plant cytoxicity. Taxol-producing endophytes with these Hb localized to vascular rays within wood, but hyperaccumulated where the rays intersected branch points and associated air pockets. Chloromethane, a chemical released by WDF, along with chitin or WDF, induced Hb release from endophytes. Hb was released from endophytes by exocytosis; chloromethane induced exocytosis genes. Combined, Taxol-producing endophytes contribute to the survival of their host by protecting their nutrient-rich vascular system and branch points against systemic fungal pathogen invasion.

Biography :

Email: ssoliman@sharjah.ac.ae