Exploration of Mangroves Associated Microbes for Bioactive Metabolites

Abstract

Mangroves are woody plants found growing at transition zones between land and sea in tropic and sub-tropical regions. They arehighly adapted morphologically and physiologically to survive in extreme environments. Mangroves are found worldwide in theirdistribution, with 110 species that belong to 20 different families. In India, mangrove forests are mostly found on the Andaman andNicobar Islands and the West and East Coast. Mangroves have enormous ecological, commercial and biological significance. They arealso regarded as hotspots for microbes because of their rich microbial diversity. Various types of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi,microalgae and macroalgae are abundant in mangrove ecosystems. More recently, fungal endophytes associated with mangroveshave added to their microbial diversity. Many mangrove plants are used as ethno-medicine in traditional health care. Mangroves arealso used as antimicrobial and antiviral agents. Fungal endophytes -colonizing medicinal plants are reported to produce importantbioactive metabolites. These endophytes are believed to produce same and more biologically active metabolites as compared to theirrespective hosts. Many fungal endophytes isolated from mangrove species have produced some important biological active metaboliteslike triterpenes, indole triterpenes, isocoumarin and marinamide. Therefore, the study of fungal endophytes associated with medicinalmangroves may give rise to important endophytic strains that might produce novel and new bioactive metabolites of pharmaceutical,industrial and agricultural importance. Due to the alarming rate of depletion of mangrove genetic resources across the world, it is highlyneeded to explore fungal endophytes associated with mangroves for the inventorisation of new metabolites.