High Value Fermentation Products, Volume 1

Chapter 18Exploitation of Fungal Endophytes as Bio-Factories for Production of Functional Metabolites through Metabolic Engineering; Emphasizing on Taxol Production

Sanjog Garyali^1*, Puja Tandon², M. Sudhakara Reddy³ and Yong Wang¹

¹Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, (China)

²School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, PR (China)

³Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala 147004 (India)

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

Abstract

Endophytic fungi represent a lesser explored resource of novel compounds that possess the capacity to synthesize various types of plant secondary metabolites. One of such metabolites is taxol (paclitaxel), a plant alkaloid and competent antineoplastic drug extracted from the bark of the Taxus plants. In the search for more effective ways to treat cancer, the taxol producing endophytic fungi have demonstrated high potential in increasing the efficiency of extraction and sustainable production of taxol and cancer treatment products. In the present chapter, we deliver an exhaustive outline of the current knowledge on the subject and considerable emphasis is given on exploiting the astounding diversity of the endophytic world for its pharmaceutical potential. Additionally, the acuity of modulation of the complete cellular network (regulation and modification) in place of only specific pathways resulting ...