Stemphylium and Ulocladium between Benefit and Harmful

Abstract

Background: Emerging of microbial resistance, spread of life-threatening diseases, and biological control of pathogens destroying economically important crops, are serious problems that encourage scientists to search for unusual sources for novel compounds with biological activities. Fungi are promising sources for such compounds due to their ability to produce variety of secondary metabolites that could be, if truly investigated, the solution for currently serious problems. Aim: The aim of this review is to highlight the diversity of compounds produced by endophytic Stemphylium and Ulocladium and represents their ability to produce biologically diverse metabolites. Materials and methods: This was a narrative review. A comprehensive literature search was done using PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and EMBASE using the keywords, Stemphylium; Ulocladium; Secondary metabolites; biological activities. Results: Many studies reported that the endophytic Ulocladium especially, Ulocladium atrum Preuss, showed promising biocontrol activity against Botrytis cinerea on crops cultivated in the greenhouse and the field. The endophytic fungus Stemphylium especially, Stemphylium globuliferum was isolated from stem tissues of the Moroccan medicinal plant Mentha pulegium. Extracts of the fungus exhibited significant cytotoxicity when tested in vitro against L5178Y cells. Conclusion: Endophytic fungi are a noble and consistent source of unique natural mixtures with a high level of biodiversity and may also yield several compounds of pharmaceutical significance, which is currently attracting scientific surveys worldwide. Every study conducted on Stemphylium and Ulocladium resulted in discovery of new metabolites or pointing to a possible application, which made Stemphylium and Ulocladium species potential source of pharmaceuticals and attracted attention for further investigations of their biological control.