Isolation of human cancer cell growth inhibitory, antimicrobial lateritin from a mixed fungal culture

The purpose of this study was to attempt the reproducible coculture of more than two fungi for biosynthesis of potential antineoplastic substances. Five different fungi were simultaneously inoculated into broth cultures and grown for two weeks. Cancer cell line bioassay-guided fractionation, NMR, and mass spectroscopy led to the isolation and characterization of lateritin. Lateritin inhibited the growth of a mini-panel of human Cancer cell lines, gram-positive bacteria, and Candida albicans. Individually, the five fungi did not synthesize detectable levels of lateritin. This study adds to the small but growing body of evidence that mixed fermentation is a viable avenue for natural product drug discovery. In addition, this is the first report of the reproducible coculture of more than two microbes for natural product biosynthesis, and the first report of the human solid tumor cell line and antimicrobial activities of lateritin.