Planta Med 2012; 78 - CL7
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1320242

Fungal co-culture as a new source of bioactive induced metabolites: A MS-based metabolomic study

S Bertrand 1, A Azzollini 1, O Schumpp 2, N Bohni 1, M Monod 3, K Gindro 2, JL Wolfender 1
  • 1School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, EPGL, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
  • 2Mycology group, Agroscope Changins ACW, Route de Duillier, CH-1260 Nyon, Switzerland
  • 3Departement of Dermatology and Venereology, Laboratory of Mycology, CHUV, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland

In natural product research, access to new biological sources represents a key element. A particularly large number of biologically active molecules are originating from microorganisms [1]. Very recently, the use of fungal co-culture for activation of silent genes related to metabolite biosynthesis was found successful for the induction of new compounds [2]. For such type of studies a challenge is the localization and identification of the induced metabolites in the confrontation zone where fungi interact at the petri dish level.

In order to tackle this issue a high throughput UHPLC-TOF-MS based metabolomic approach has been developed for the screening of miniaturized 12-wellplates fungal co-cultures. The strategy provided a satisfactory reproducibility and was used for the identification of induced biomarkers on a large panel of pathogenic fungi. This study demonstrates the consistent induction of new metabolites through co-culture.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by Swiss National Science Foundation Sinergia Grant CRSII3_127187 (to J.-L. W., K. G. and M. M.)

[1] Berdy J, J. Antibiot. 2005, 58, 1; [2] Glauser G et al., J. Agr. Food. Chem., 2009, 57, 1127.