Fungi as Producers of Biologically Active
Metabolites
More than 20,000 bioactive metabolites
are of microbial origin (Bérdy 2005). Fungi are
among the most important groups of eukaryotic
organisms that are well known for producing
many novel metabolites which are directly
used as drugs or function as lead structures for
synthetic modifications (Kock et al. 2001,
Bode et al. 2002, Donadio et al. 2002, Chin et
al. 2006, Gunatilaka 2006, Mitchell et al. 2008,
Stadler & Keller 2008). The success of several
medicinal drugs from microbial origin such as
the antibiotic penicillin from Penicillium sp.,
the immunosuppressant cyclosporine from
Tolypocladium inflatum and Cylindrocarpon
lucidum, the antifungal agent griseofulvin from
Penicillium griseofulvum fungus, the
cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitor lovastatin
from Aspergillus terreus fungus, and β-lactam
antibiotics from various fungal taxa, has shifted
the focus of drug discovery from plants to
microorganisms.