Diversity of fungal isolates from fungus‐growing termite Macrotermes barneyi and characterization of bioactive compound from Xylaria escharoidea

Abstract Owing to their potential applications, as well as their structural diversity, the discovery of novel secondary metabolites from insect‐associated fungi has been of interest to researchers in recent years. The aim of this study was therefore to estimate the diversity of fungi associated with fungus‐growing termites and bioprospecting these for potential secondary metabolites. In total, 18 fungal species were isolated and described from the gut and comb of Macrotermes barneyi based on 18S ribosomal DNA gene sequence analysis. Antimicrobial activity assays were carried out on all the known fungi, and nine isolates were recorded as active against pathogenic fungi. Xylaria escharoidea , the best performing isolate, was grown at laboratory scale and 4,8‐dihydroxy‐3,4‐dihydronaphthalen‐1(2H) was isolated and characterized. The minimum inhibitory concentration of this isolated compound against tested pathogenic organisms was found to be 6.25 μg. In addition, molecular docking studies have revealed that 4,8‐dihydroxy‐3,4‐dihydronaphthalen‐1(2H) is a prominent antibacterial agent with a marked interaction with key residues on protein A (agrA C ) that regulates the accessory gene. The findings of this study support the drug discovery of antimicrobial properties in insect‐associated fungi, which may lead to novel secondary metabolites.