# Taxane-Producing Fungi Isolated from Taxus globosa Tree Bark

## TL;DR

Researchers found fungi in Taxus globosa tree bark that can produce taxane compounds used in cancer drugs, offering a potential alternative to traditional methods.

## Contribution

This is the first report of taxane production by fungi related to the Arcopilus and Endoxyla genera.

## Key findings

- Several endophytic fungi, including Aspergillus, Trichoderma, and Hypoxylon, produced taxadiene at varying concentrations.
- Baccatin III, a precursor to paclitaxel, was detected in fungal cultures.
- Fungi from the Arcopilus and Endoxyla genera were found to produce taxane compounds for the first time.

## Abstract

The taxane molecules extracted from the bark of trees from the Taxus genus demonstrate anticancer activity and are the main components of the drug paclitaxel. Even though a great deal of research has been carried out to produce them synthetically, this manufacturing is still dependent on Taxus cell culture. Furthermore, these processes are not suitable for steady taxane production. Therefore, the search for alternative sources of taxane production has generated growing interest amongst the scientific community. The use of endophytic fungi for the obtention of taxane constitutes an attractive alternative. Here, we present an analysis of the taxane production of several microorganisms through LC–QTOF MS/MS. We isolated 21 endophytic fungus strains, identified through sequencing of their internal transcribed spacer region (ITS). The phylogenetic analysis showed the presence of 11 different Fungus genera, namely Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Neurospora, Penicillium, Curvularia, Arcopilus, Biscogniauxia, Hypoxylon, Sordaria, Xylariales, and Gelasinospora. These fungi have been previously described to synthetize distinct metabolites of medical interest, hence supporting the study of their potential taxane production. Here, we report the production of taxadiene by some of these fungi, namely Aspergillus sp. (1.35 μg/L), TgO (0.7 μg/L), Trichoderma harzianum (0.13 μg/L), and Hypoxylon sp. (0.3 μg/L). Furthermore, we also detected the production of baccatin III, a crucial precursor component of the drug paclitaxel. This is the first report of taxane production by fungi phylogenetically related to the Arcopilus and Endoxyla genera.