Amazonian Fungal Diversity and the Potential of Basidiomycetes as Sources of Novel Antimicrobials

TL;DR

This review explores Amazonian fungi, especially basidiomycetes, as potential sources of new antimicrobial compounds to combat drug-resistant infections.

Contribution

The paper integrates fungal biodiversity data with antimicrobial bioprospecting, emphasizing basidiomycetes and their bioactive compounds.

Findings

Amazonian basidiomycetes produce diverse bioactive compounds like terpenes and peptides with antimicrobial potential.

Current research is limited by uneven sampling and challenges in cultivating certain fungal species.

Linking compounds to biosynthetic pathways and ecological roles is critical for advancing antimicrobial discovery.

Abstract

The Amazon rainforest harbors an extraordinary diversity of fungi that helps to sustain forest processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and ecological interactions with plants and animals. At the same time, the world is facing a growing problem of infections that are difficult to treat because microorganisms become resistant against existing antibiotics and antifungal drugs. This review brings together what is currently known about fungal diversity across major Amazon ecosystems and highlights basidiomycetes as promising sources of natural molecules with antimicrobial activity. We summarize how these fungi are detected using traditional culture methods and modern molecular approaches, which types of bioactive compounds have been reported, and which genera have shown the most promising potential as producers of anti-microbially active drugs. We also discuss key gaps that limit the research progress in this field, including uneven sampling across geographic regions, technical challenges in cultivating many species, and the need to link compounds to their biosynthetic pathways and ecological roles. By mapping current evidence and priorities, this review aims to support more targeted bioprospecting efforts and to encourage approaches that protect biodiversity while enabling new strategies for antimicrobial discovery.

The Amazon Forest harbors one of the largest fungal diversities on the planet, occupying a wide variety of ecological niches comprising terra firme (non-flooded forest), várzea (white-water floodplains), and igapó (black-water floodplains). In this review article, we examine Amazonian fungal diversity based on three complementary approaches—culture-based surveys, in situ inventories of macrofungi, and environmental DNA/metagenomic analyses—discussing advances, limitations, and contributions to regional mycological knowledge. Subsequently, we present a critical synthesis of the potential of Amazonian basidiomycetes regarding the production of metabolites with antimicrobial activity, highlighting the main genera reported in the literature, the chemical classes involved (e.g., terpenes, steroids, quinones, and bioactive peptides), and the metabolic pathways responsible for their biosynthesis. The integration between biodiversity and bioprospecting underscores the importance of Amazonian fungi both for understanding ecological processes and for the development of new solutions to the antimicrobial resistance challenge. This work seeks to fill current gaps in the academic literature and to contribute to future strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of regional mycobiota.

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