Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Cave Dwelling Fungi

ScholarSpace, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Living organisms produce both “primary” and “secondary” metabolites. Primary metabolites are necessary to the organisms survival, as well as ubiquitous to life and include proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids. Secondary metabolites however, are unique to various species and help to catalyze reactions for particular organisms. Some examples of secondary metabolites are “penicillin” which is produced by fungi to inhibit the growth of bacteria, as well as ecdysone which catalyzes molting in insects. This research project aims to discover and identify secondary metabolites produced by cave-dwelling fungi. The metabolites of interest will inhibit microbial growth and could lead to the production of new pharmaceutical antibiotics