Gibberella moniliformis AH13 with Antitumor Activity, an Endophytic Fungus Strain Producing Triolein Isolated from Adlay ( Coix lacryma- jobi: Poaceae).

In this study, the isolation of an endophytic fungus from the leaves of the medicinal herb adlay ( Coix lacryma- jobi L. var. ma- yuen Stapf) is reported for the first time. The fungus produced Triolein (trioleoylglycerol), a major constituent of triacylglycerols (TAGs) of adlay, in rice medium under shake-flask and bench-scale fermentation conditions. The fungus was identified as Gibberella moniliformis ( Fusarium verticillioides) by its morphology and authenticated by ITS analysis (ITS1 and ITS2 regions and the intervening 5.8S rDNA region). Triolein was identified by HPLC-ELSD coupled with APCI-MS and confirmed through comparison with authentic standard. The concentration of triolein produced by G. moniliformis AH13 reached 2.536 ± 0.006 mg/g dry weight of mycelium. Moreover, the EtOAc extract of G. moniliformis AH13 showed strong antitumor activity against four types of tumor cells (A549, HCT116, MDA-MB-231, and SW1990). These results suggest that G. moniliformis AH13 in adlay has significant scientific and industrial potential to meet the pharmaceutical demands and sustainable energy requirements for TAGs in a cost-effective, easily accessible, and reproducible way and is also a potential novel source of natural antitumor bioactive agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]