Phoma glomerata D14: An Endophytic Fungus from Salvia miltiorrhiza That Produces Salvianolic Acid C

In recent years, more and more researches focus on endophytic fungi derived from important medicinal plants, which can produce the same bioactive metabolites as their host plants. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge is a traditional medicinal plant with versatile pharmacological effects. But the wild plant resource has been in short supply due to the overcollection for bioactive metabolites. Our study was therefore conducted to isolate endophytic fungi from S. miltiorrhiza and get candidate strains that produce the same bioactive compounds as the plant. As a result, an endophyte that produces salvianolic acid C was obtained and identified as Phoma glomerata D14 based on its morphology and internal transcribed spacer analysis. Salvianolic acid C was found present in both the mycelia and fermentation broth. Our study indicates that the endophytic fungus has significant industrial potential to meet the pharmaceutical demands for salvianolic acid C in a cost-effective, easily accessible, and reproducible way.