Chemical Signaling and Metabolomic Crosstalk in Endophytic Fungi–Medicinal Plant Symbioses for Natural Product Discovery and Sustainable Bioproduction

TL;DR

This review explores how endophytic fungi and medicinal plants communicate chemically, leading to new natural products and sustainable drug production.

Contribution

The paper introduces a framework for leveraging fungal-plant chemical signaling to activate fungal biosynthetic gene clusters for drug discovery.

Findings

Host-derived chemicals like root exudates and oxylipins trigger silent fungal biosynthetic gene clusters.

Novel bioactive metabolites with antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties were identified through co-culture and in planta models.

Spatial metabolomics reveals localized metabolic exchange at the plant–fungus interface, offering insights beyond bulk tissue analysis.

Abstract

Background: Medicinal plants function as complex holobionts, with their therapeutic potential significantly shaped by the associated microbiome, particularly endophytic fungi. These symbionts engage in a sophisticated “chemical signaling” with their hosts, acting as biotic elicitors that modulate plant secondary metabolism while simultaneously responding to host cues to activate their own cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). This review aims to critically summarize the multi-layered mechanisms driving this metabolic crosstalk and evaluate strategies to harness this symbiotic intelligence for natural product discovery. Methods: A systematic literature survey spanning the last decade was conducted across major databases. The search specifically targeted studies investigating endophytic fungi in medicinal plants, focusing on experimental designs for BGC activation, applications of spatial metabolomics (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging, MALDI-MSI), and the structural elucidation of novel bioactive natural products through co-culture or in planta models. Results: Our analysis reveals that host-derived chemical cues, such as specific root exudates and oxylipins, act as primary triggers to awaken silent fungal BGCs. We collated numerous recently discovered bioactive metabolites—including novel polyketides, highly rearranged terpenoids, and unique alkaloids—demonstrating their potent antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties. Furthermore, a critical evaluation of spatial metabolomics studies demonstrates that metabolic exchange is highly localized at the plant–fungus interface, providing contextual insights that traditional bulk tissue extraction fails to capture. Conclusions: This review bridges the gap between ecological understanding and synthetic biology applications. We conclude that translating the mechanisms of this “chemical signaling” into biotechnological strategies offers a sustainable pathway for the bioproduction of high-value pharmaceuticals, thereby reducing reliance on the wild harvesting of medicinal plants.

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