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This study investigated the biodiversity, phylogeny, and antifungal activity of endophytic fungi isolated from Zanthoxylum bungeanum. A total of 940 isolates obtained were grouped into 93 morphotypes, 43 species, and 23 genera, which were authenticated by molecular identification based on rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. A high diversity of endophytic fungi from Z. bungeanum are observed with high species richness S (43), Margalef index D0 (6.1351), Shannon-Wiener index H0 (3.2743), Simpson diversity index Ds (0.9476), PIE index (0.9486), and evenness Pielou index J (0.8705) but a low dominant index l (0.0524). Significant tissue specificity of the endophytic fungi was observed in Z. bungeanum, and the highest species richness and diversity indexes were obtained in the stem. Phylogenetic analyses of the 93 endophytic isolates were carried out by the neighbor-joining (NJ) method to demonstrate their evolutionary processes. Antifungal activities of endophytic fungi were assayed and eight endophytic isolates showed strong and long-lasting inhibition against host pathogenic fungi Fusarium sambucinum and Pseudocercospora zanthoxyli. Here, for the first time, we systematically demonstrate the biodiversity, phylogeny, and antifungal activity of endophytic fungi associated with Z. bungeanum and reveal the value of sampling different tissues of a given plant to obtain the greatest endophyte species diversity, which might offer a framework for further investigation and utilization of endophytic fungi as aunique source of interesting and useful bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical cancer is still one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women worldwide, especially in the developing countries. It is a major metabolic character of cancer cells to consume large quantities of glucose and derive more energy by glycolysis even in the presence of adequate oxygen, which is called Warburg effect that can be exaggerated by hypoxia. The high risk subtype HPV16 early oncoprotein E6 contributes host cell immortalization and transformation through interacting with a number of cellular factors. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), a ubiquitously expressed transcriptional regulator involved in induction of numerous genes associated with angiogenesis and tumor growth, is highly increased by HPV E6. HIF-1α is a best-known target of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) as an E3 ligase for degradation. In the present work, we found that HPV16 E6 promotes hypoxia induced Warburg effect through hindering the association of HIF-1α and VHL. This disassociation attenuates VHL-mediated HIF-1α ubiquitination and causes HIF-1α accumulation. These results suggest that oncoprotein E6 plays a major role in the regulation of Warburg effect and can be a valuable therapeutic target for HPV-related cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]