Authors: Gwi Ja Hwang et al.

Journal: Journal of microbiology and biotechnology (2023)

Institution: Chemical Biology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju 28116, Republic of Korea

Research Areas: Microbiology

Cell Lines: MDA-MB-231 cells (Human breast cancer cells)

Summary: A recent bioinformatic analysis of genomic sequences of fungi indicated that fungi are able to produce more secondary metabolites than expected. Despite their potency, many biosynthetic pathways are silent in the absence of specific culture conditions or chemical cues. To access cryptic metabolism, 108 fungal strains isolated from various sites were cultured with or without Streptomyces sp. 13F051 which mainly produces trichostatin analogues, followed by the comparison of metabolic profiles using LC-MS. Among the 108 fungal strains, 14 produced secondary metabolites that were not recognized or were scarcely produced in mono-cultivation. Of these two fungal strains, Myrmecridium schulzeri 15F098 and Scleroconidioma sphagnicola 15S058 produced four new compounds (1-4) along with a known compound (5), demonstrating that all four compounds were produced by physical interaction with Streptomyces sp. 13F051. Bioactivity evaluation indicated that compounds 3-5 impede migration of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.HoloMonitor was used to study the effect of compounds on the motility of MDA-MB-231 cells.

Keywords: HoloMonitor M4, Single cell tracking, co-culture system, fungal cryptic secondary metabolites, structure determination, physical interaction