Endophytes are viewed as an outstanding source of novel bioactive natural
products because many of them occupy literally millions of
unique biological niches (higher plants) growing in a variety
of unusual environments (Verma et al. 2009). Over 8,600
bioactive metabolites of fungal origin have been described
(Berdy 2005). In some cases, plant-associated fungi are able
to make the same bioactive compounds as the host plant
itself. One of the best examples of this is the discovery of
gibberellins in Fusarium fujikuroi Nirenberg in the early
1930s. Eventually it was determined that the gibberellins are one of only five classes of phytohormones that are to be
found in virtually all plants. This observation led to the
prospect that endophytic fungi, associated with Taxus
brevifolia, may also produce taxol (Stierle et al. 1993).
Taxol itself is the world’s first billion dollar anticancer drug,
and its main source is Taxus spp. Potentially, a fungal source
of taxol would reduce its price and save the plant from
extinction in some areas. The success of finding fungal taxol
has produced a paradigm for still other bioactive compounds
to be found in endophytic microbes