Issue 8, 2021

The chemistry and biology of fungal meroterpenoids (2009–2019)

Abstract

Fungal meroterpenoids are secondary metabolites from mixed terpene-biosynthetic origins. Their intriguing chemical structural diversification and complexity, potential bioactivities, and pharmacological significance make them attractive targets in natural product chemistry, organic synthesis, and biosynthesis. This review provides a systematic overview of the isolation, chemical structural features, biological activities, and fungal biodiversity of 1585 novel meroterpenoids from 79 genera terrestrial and marine-derived fungi including macrofungi, Basidiomycetes, in 441 research papers in 2009–2019. Based on the nonterpenoid starting moiety in their biosynthesis pathway, meroterpenoids were classified into four categories (polyketide–terpenoid, indole-, shikimate-, and miscellaneous-) with polyketide–terpenoids (mainly tetraketide-) and shikimate–terpenoids as the primary source. Basidiomycota produced 37.5% of meroterpenoids, mostly shikimate–terpenoids. The genera of Ganoderma, Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Stachybotrys are the four dominant producers. Moreover, about 56% of meroterpenoids display various pronounced bioactivities, including cytotoxicity, enzyme inhibition, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antifungal activities. It's exciting that several meroterpenoids including antroquinonol and 4-acetyl antroquinonol B were developed into phase II clinically used drugs. We assume that the chemical diversity and therapeutic potential of these fungal meroterpenoids will provide biologists and medicinal chemists with a large promising sustainable treasure-trove for drug discovery.

Graphical abstract: The chemistry and biology of fungal meroterpenoids (2009–2019)

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
28 Oct 2020
Accepted
30 Nov 2020
First published
09 Dec 2020

Org. Biomol. Chem., 2021,19, 1644-1704

The chemistry and biology of fungal meroterpenoids (2009–2019)

M. Jiang, Z. Wu, L. Liu and S. Chen, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2021, 19, 1644 DOI: 10.1039/D0OB02162H

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