Marvellous Muscodor spp .: Update on Their Biology and Applications
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FUNGAL MICROBIOLOGY
Marvellous Muscodor spp.: Update on Their Biology and Applications Sanjai Saxena 1
&
Gary A. Strobel 2
Received: 17 September 2020 / Accepted: 12 November 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Nearly 20 years ago, the first report appeared on the discovery of a novel genus—Muscodor. This organism was isolated as an endophyte from a cinnamon tree that had been introduced to Honduras from Sri Lanka in the early part of the last century. Characteristically, the original Muscodor albus, and all of its species isolated since that time are non-spore producers and each one exudes a characteristic spectrum of volatile bioactive compounds. The majority have a whitish mycelium, which is sometimes coiling, intertwined and decorated with variously shaped structures. Presently, there are at least 22 type species known/ documented and each has been described as an endophyte from various plant families with widely varying habitats. An enormous variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are produced by Muscodor spp. and some of these include esters, acids, aldehydes, ketones, aromatics, alkanes, alcohols, nitrosamides and terpenoids. The VOCs are both inhibitory and lethal to a wide variety of fungi and bacteria including some major pathogens of plants and humans. Interestingly, in almost all cases studied, no one compound by itself can mimic the bioactivity of the complete gas mixture, suggesting that the volatiles are acting in a synergistic manner and this has been tested with individual as well as the VOCs in various mixtures and concentrations. This review will discuss some of the recent findings in all aspects of this unique fungal genus whilst at the same time pointing out some of the major questions that remain about its biology, ecology and its applications in agriculture, medicine and other sectors. Most importantly, the authors provide arguments supporting the claim that Muscodor is taxonomically distinct from Induratia, a recently proposed change to its nomenclature. Keywords VOCs (volatile organic compounds) . Synergistic activity . Muscodor . Antimicrobial activity . Mycofumigation
Introduction: Serendipity—Finding a Novel Fungus (a Personal Recollection) Over the years, many people have asked—how did you (Gary Strobel) possibly have found the first Muscodor spp.? The answer is totally grounded in scientific serendipity. In 1997, I was on a collecting trip in the jungles of the Caribbean coast of Honduras, one of the world’s ‘hot spots of biodiversity’.
* Sanjai Saxena [email protected]; [email protected] Gary A. Strobel [email protected] 1
Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Punjab 147004, India
2
Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
The Dole Fruit Company indicated that if I was to help them with a number of disease problems they were having in their crops, they would take me to some collecting points for tropical plants.
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