Evaluation of spore inoculum and confirmation of pathway genetic blueprint of T13αH and DBAT from a Taxol-producing endophytic fungus

Taxol (paclitaxel), a plant-derived anticancer drug, has been among the most successful anticancer drugs of natural origin. Endophytic fungi have been proposed as a prominent alternative source for Taxol and its intermediate Baccatin III, however the very low yields remain a hinderance to their commercial utilization. Significant research efforts towards this end are underway globally. Here, we report the results on our earlier reported Taxol-producing endophytic fungus, Fusarium solani from the standpoint of spores as seed inoculum and media selection for enhanced Taxol and baccatin III yields. Spores produced on M1D medium with 94.76% viability were used for further media optimization for Taxol and Baccatin III production in five different liquid media under static and shaker condition at different cultivation days. Taxol and Baccatin III when quantified through competitive inhibition enzyme immunoassay (CIEIA), showed maximum production at 136.3 µg L(−1) and 128.3 µg L(−1), respectively in the modified flask basal broth (MFBB) under shaking condition. Further, two important genes of this pathway, namely taxane 13α-hydroxylase (T13αH) and 10-deacetylbaccatin III-10-β-O-acetyltransferase (DBAT) have been identified in this fungus. These findings are hoped to assist in further manipulation and metabolic engineering of the parent F. solani strain towards the enhanced production of Taxol and baccatin III.