113 / 2023-08-02 11:46:52

Chemotaxonomic Classification of Mangrove Endophytic Fungi via Metabolomics Approach

chemotaxonomy,metabolites,mangrove endophytic fungi,mass-to-charge ratio (m/z),chemo-barcoding

The knowledge of mangrove endophytic fungal taxonomy is of great importance in optimizing the discovery of novel fungal bioactive compounds by high-throughput screening. This significance stems from the shared biosynthesis gene clusters that produce metabolites restricted to specific fungal taxonomic groups. However, limited morphological identification keys hinder the taxonomic classification of many fungal groups. Even DNA barcoding relies on properly curated type specimens for the approach to be effective for identification and classification. Chemotaxonomy, on the other hand, is a useful tool to potentially differentiate and classify taxa based on differences and similarities in the biochemical signatures associated with the specimens. While chemotaxonomic biomarkers can be mistakenly determined to be specific for certain taxa groups due to various reasons, the present study aims at developing an alternative system of metabolomics-guided chemotaxonomic approach for classification, using mangrove endophytic fungi as a model. This approach is based on the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) values of the peaks generated through mass spectrometry, which looks at each spectral fragment as a value without having to fully characterize them. Such data could then be further developed into a biochemical fingerprint to be used in “chemo-barcoding” endophytic fungal taxa in this study, and potentially other organisms in the future.