Endophytic Fusarium spp.: A treasure of natural products with promising biotechnological applications

Abstract

Endophytic fungi residing within plant tissues represent an underexplored reservoir of structurally diverse specialized metabolites. Among them, Fusarium spp. stand out for their capacity to biosynthesize a wide array of bioactive secondary metabolites (SMs). Fusarium spp. have been shown to produce antimicrobial, anticancer, nematicidal, antiviral, and other bioactive metabolites. Compounds exhibiting potent activity against pathogens including bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes offer leads for developing novel antimicrobials. Cytotoxic metabolites demonstrate activity against various cancer cell lines, holding promise as anticancer drug candidates. Nematicidal compounds could contribute to sustainable agriculture through eco-friendly nematode control. Antivirals active against diverse viruses may yield therapies for challenging diseases. Beyond these targeted activities, Fusarium metabolites also display antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other beneficial properties. Continued exploration of endophytic Fusarium metabolomes is warranted to fully understand their biosynthetic capacity. Isolating and characterization specialized metabolites through bioactivity-guided approaches can uncover new chemical scaffolds with applications in healthcare, agriculture, and industry. This review highlights the remarkable potential of endophytic Fusarium as a source of natural products (NPs) with applications across multiple sectors based on their documented metabolomic diversity.