ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 3421-7347 Vol. 9 (3), pp. 001-003, March, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An endophytic Taxol-producing fungus BT2 isolated from Taxus chinensis var. mairei
B.H. Guo1, Y.C. Wang1, X.W. Zhou1, K. Hu2, F. Tan2, Z.Q. Miao1 and K.X. Tang1, 3*
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
2School of Life Science and Technology, Southwest Normal University, Chongqing 400715, P.R.China.
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Morgan-Tan International Center for Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China.
Accepted 21 October, 2014
Abstract
BT2, a newly isolated endophytic fungus from Taxus chinensis var. mairei, was observed to produce Taxol. Besides Taxol, a potent anticancer drug, BT2 could also yield taxane baccatin III, which was an important intermediate for Taxol and semi-synthesis of Taxol in industry. The isolation of such a fungus may provide a promising alterative approach to produce Taxol, and BT2 can serve as a potential material for fungus engineering to improve Taxol production.
Key words: Baccatin III, endophytic fungus, Taxol, Taxus chinensis var. mairei.