Competitive phenotype and metabolite repertoire of the endophytic Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7
- 1Department of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Malaya
- 2Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Malaya
Abstract
Endophytic fungi represent potential sources of antifungal agents, but the phenotypic and chemical basis of their interactions with competing fungi remains incompletely understood. Here, physiological characterization, time-resolved confrontation assays, cell-free culture-filtrate testing, untargeted chemical profiling, and molecular docking were integrated to characterize the competitive phenotype of the endophytic fungus Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7, isolated from the medicinal plant Pereskia bleo (Kunth) DC., and to prioritize candidate metabolites for subsequent investigation. Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7 exhibited condition-dependent growth and a temporally asymmetric competitive phenotype against two Penicillium species, characterized by sustained colony expansion, progressive restriction of target-fungal growth, and pronounced hyphal abnormalities. Cell-free culture filtrates retained antifungal activity against both target fungi, supporting a contribution of extracellular chemical factors to the overall antagonistic phenotype. Feature-based molecular networking of a culture-associated agar–mycelium extract resolved a chemically diverse repertoire that included putatively annotated beauvericin-type cyclodepsipeptides, diketopiperazines, and unresolved molecular families. Molecular docking further prioritized this candidate chemical space, with beauvericin derivatives displaying particularly favorable target-dependent docking profiles toward CYP51, Fks1, and the ABC transporter, whereas cyclo(L-Tyr-L-Tyr) emerged as a notable diketopiperazine candidate. Together, these findings prioritize candidate metabolites potentially associated with the competitive phenotype of Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7 and provide a foundation for future mechanistic studies of endophytic fungal antagonism.
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BibTeX
@article{yang2026competitive,
title = {{Competitive phenotype and metabolite repertoire of the endophytic Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7}},
author = {Ling Yang and Chuancheng Wei},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1943254},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1943254/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Competitive phenotype and metabolite repertoire of the endophytic Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7
AU - Ling Yang
AU - Chuancheng Wei
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1943254
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1943254/full
AB - Endophytic fungi represent potential sources of antifungal agents, but the phenotypic and chemical basis of their interactions with competing fungi remains incompletely understood. Here, physiological characterization, time-resolved confrontation assays, cell-free culture-filtrate testing, untargeted chemical profiling, and molecular docking were integrated to characterize the competitive phenotype of the endophytic fungus Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7, isolated from the medicinal plant Pereskia bleo (Kunth) DC., and to prioritize candidate metabolites for subsequent investigation. Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7 exhibited condition-dependent growth and a temporally asymmetric competitive phenotype against two Penicillium species, characterized by sustained colony expansion, progressive restriction of target-fungal growth, and pronounced hyphal abnormalities. Cell-free culture filtrates retained antifungal activity against both target fungi, supporting a contribution of extracellular chemical factors to the overall antagonistic phenotype. Feature-based molecular networking of a culture-associated agar–mycelium extract resolved a chemically diverse repertoire that included putatively annotated beauvericin-type cyclodepsipeptides, diketopiperazines, and unresolved molecular families. Molecular docking further prioritized this candidate chemical space, with beauvericin derivatives displaying particularly favorable target-dependent docking profiles toward CYP51, Fks1, and the ABC transporter, whereas cyclo(L-Tyr-L-Tyr) emerged as a notable diketopiperazine candidate. Together, these findings prioritize candidate metabolites potentially associated with the competitive phenotype of Diaporthe sp. PBS30-7 and provide a foundation for future mechanistic studies of endophytic fungal antagonism.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -