The Effects of Endohyphal Bacteria on Anti-Cancer and Anti-Malaria Metabolites of Endophytic Fungi

Endophytes - the diverse, ubiquitous microbes that inhabit healthy plant tissues-- have proven to play a promising role in advancements in medicine due to their bioactivity against many pathogenic agents- such as bacteria, cancer cell lines, and malarial parasites. Based on preliminary data, endohyphal bacteria that have been found to inhabit certain endophytes may affect their metabolite production. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether diverse bioactive endophytes harbor endohyphal bacteria, which frequently are fastidious and can’t be cultured independently. A molecular cloning approach, through which two PCR enzyme mixes were compared, revealed that 1 out of 14 bioactive endophytes screened was positive for endohyphal bacteria (7.14%). BLAST analysis of 16s rRNA sequence data indicated a top match to the genus Caulobacter, a Gram-negative genus of bacteria commonly found in soil and water. Previous work by colleagues has found related strains of endohyphal bacteria in other strains of endophytes, which brings attention to this particular bacterium in assessing endohyphal bacteria and their ecological roles. Further testing of endophytes immediately after isolation from plant tissue, rather than from long-term vouchers, might be more effective in documenting endohyphal bacteria. For those that do harbor detectable infections, curing the endophytes of their endohyphal bacteria then assessing their metabolic activity would reveal whether or not the bacteria plays a major role for metabolite production and efficiency of endophytes against pathogens.