Tacrolimus as Antifungal Agent

Tacrolimus (FK506) is an immunosuppressant drug widely used to avoid organ rejection in transplant patients. It has a profound influence on the cellular stress response by interfering with the calmodulin-calcineurin signaling pathway. In this context FK506 also became a valuable antifungal drug in medical care. Here it is shown in vitro that tacrolimus has a potent growth inhibition activity against 11 fungi and 3 oomycetes of agricultural importance. The significance of this finding is discussed with respect to crop protection. The in silico molecular docking to 6 major antifungal enzymes determined UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine: D-glutamate ligase (MurD) as the main target by the best affinity score.