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Fungal Origin of Ergoline Alkaloids Present in Dicotyledonous Plants (Convolvulaceae)

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Physiology and Genetics

Part of the book series: The Mycota ((MYCOTA,volume 15))

Abstract

Ergoline (i.e. ergot) alkaloids are a group of physiologically active natural products occurring in taxonomically unrelated fungal and plant taxa, Clavicipitaceae and Convolvulaceae. The disjointed occurrence of ergoline alkaloids seems to contradict the paradigm of chemotaxonomy that identical or at least structurally related natural products occur in taxonomically related organisms. This question has now been solved by the observation that some dicotyledonous plants belonging to the family Convolvulaceae (e.g. Ipomoea asarifolia, I. violacea and Turbina corymbosa carry epibiotic fungi. The fungi present on different plant species are not identical albeit taxonomically closely related clavicipitaceous fungi. Thus, the presence of ergoline alkaloids in dicotyledonous plants is not based on their capacity to synthesize ergoline alkaloids but rather on the ability to live in a symbiotic association with ergoline alkaloid producing fungi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie, Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelm-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 6, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Eckhard Leistner

  2. Institut für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften und Ressourcenschutz (INRES), Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelm-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 9, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Ulrike Steiner

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  1. Eckhard Leistner
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  2. Ulrike Steiner
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Correspondence to Eckhard Leistner or Ulrike Steiner .

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  1. Inst. Biotechnologie und, TU Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Str. 56, Kaiserslautern, 67663, Germany

    Timm Anke

  2. MIP Pharma GmbH, Mühlstr. 50, St.Ingbert, 66386, Germany

    Daniela Weber

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Detlef Gröger on the occasion of his 80th birthday

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Leistner, E., Steiner, U. (2009). Fungal Origin of Ergoline Alkaloids Present in Dicotyledonous Plants (Convolvulaceae). In: Anke, T., Weber, D. (eds) Physiology and Genetics. The Mycota, vol 15. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00286-1_9

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