Sunday, August 12, 2012
Columbia Hall, Terrace Level (Washington Hilton)
Understanding the magnitude of fungal diversity has been increasing in recent years due to the progress in molecular tools used in concert with morphological analysis. Fungi are extremely diverse, next to insects, with a traditional estimate of 1.5 million species. Only 11% of fungi have been described in the literature. Fungi derived from Canadian marine habitats represent a potentially valuable resource and are heavily underexplored for the purpose of discovering both new species and new pharmacologically active secondary metabolites. Prolonged usage of broad spectrum antibiotics has led to the emergence of drug resistance and there is therefore a tremendous need for novel antimicrobial agents. Thus, the strategy of this project was to isolate fungi from coastal waters of Prince Edward Island, Canada and ferment them on a broad panel of media. Subsequently, the extracts were tested against a broad panel of human pathogenic micro-organisms. In this study, the integration between molecular biology and chemistry led us to the discovery of a new fungal species with the capability of producing natural products with activity against MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).