Fungi as a Potential Source of Polyketides: A Review

Fungi estimated to be more than 5.1 million species around the globe represent an invaluable source of innumerable natural products that can be screened for various bioactivities. They have provided society with some of the largest medical breakthroughs in modern era. Repeated isolation of known compounds has been a tough challenge for natural products research. Fungi especially microfungi, have proved themselves as potent producers of novel compounds to adapt themselves to diverse conditions including extreme habitats. This review highlights the importance of microfungal strains in the biosynthesis of polyketides, their biosynthetic pathways, isolation methods, structure elucidation and further their significance focusing on activity against various pathogenic strains, human cancer cell lines and other biological entities.