POTENCIAL BIOTECNOLÓGICO DO FUNGO ENDOFÍTICO Penicillium cataractarum 5IP2F4 NA PRODUÇÃO DE METABÓLITOS

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are symbiotic microorganisms that inhabit plant tissues without causing damage. They produce secondary metabolites for defense and adaptation, making them an important source of natural products with biotechnological potential for the development of new drugs. Currently, the search for new antibacterial drugs is crucial due to the increasing bacterial resistance to available antibiotics. In this context, preliminary studies conducted at LaPNEM identified a promising strain, Penicillium cataractarum 5IP2F4, which demonstrated potential for action against the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. In light of this, the present work aimed to cultivate the endophyte P. cataractarum 5IP2F4, previously isolated from Bromelia balansae collected in the Pantanal, using the One Strain Many Compounds (OSMAC) strategy and annotating the compounds present in the extracts. Chemical characterization of crude extracts obtained from the supernatants (sCE) and mycelial biomass/mycelia (mCE) of liquid culture was performed in the following media: potato-dextrose broth (PDB), commercial PDBc, yeast-peptone-dextrose extract (YPD), and Sabouraud (SAB), in search of new molecules, whose chemical profiles were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector and mass spectrometry. Compounds from the extracts were noted, such as coumarins tetrahydroxy-methyl-dihydroisocoumarin and trihydroxy-methyl-dihydroisocoumarin, which were produced in greater quantities in potato media, in addition to the cyclopeptide desferrichrome, produced by the mycelia in all 4 media, as well as citric acid, tyrosine, and adenosine. The YPD medium showed the highest yields of extracts and biomass, indicating more favorable nutritional conditions for growth, while metabolite production was more stimulated in potato media, even with a simpler composition. The chromatograms obtained from the extracts revealed different peaks between the media; furthermore, it was possible to observe a greater production of compounds by the fungus in the sCE compared to the mCE. With these results, the research also allowed for a greater understanding of the species, as there is insufficient data on P. cataratarum, as well as on the chemical composition of the endophyte community in the southern Pantanal region of Mato Grosso do Sul, highlighting the importance of conserving the biome.