Multifarious Elicitors: Invoking Biosynthesis of Various Bioactive Secondary Metabolite in Fungi

Natural products are considered to be the lifeline treatment for several diseases where their structural complexity makes them a source of potential lead molecules. As a producer of antibiotics, food colorants, enzymes, and nutritious food, fungi are beneficial to humans. Fungi, as a source of novel natural products, draw attention of scientists. However, redundant isolation of metabolite retards the rate of discovery. So, apart from the standard conditions for the production of secondary metabolites, certain induction strategies are used to trigger biosynthetic genes in fungi. Advancement in the computational tools helps in connecting gene clusters and their metabolite production. Therefore, modern analytical tools and the genomic era in hand leads to the identification of manifold of cryptic metabolites. The cryptic biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) has become a treasure hunt for new metabolites representing biosynthetic pathways, regulatory mechanisms, and other factors. This review includes the use of chemical inducers/epigenetic modifiers and co-culture (species interaction) techniques to induce these BGCs. Furthermore, it cites a detailed representation of molecules isolated using these strategies. Since the induction occurs on the genomic molecular DNA and histones, this together brings a significant exploration of the biosynthetic pathways.Graphical Abstract.