Research progress in the secondary metabolites of insect symbionts

Abstract:

It is a common phenomenon of the symbiosis between microorganisms and insects. There are many different kinds of insects on Earth, and the insect symbionts are also very diverse. In this paper, we summarize and analyze 177 secondary metabolites originated from different insects that have been reported from 2008. The results show that, 61.6% of the compounds produced by insect symbionts are new metabolites, in which the alkaloids are the most abundant. About 75% compounds with unprecedented structure derived from fungi, whereas those from bacteria account for about 25%; the quinones and polyketides are the main structure type accounting for about 23.2% of the compounds produced by insect symbionts; about 47.5% of which displayed significant bioactivities such as antitumor, antimicrobial, herbicidal, antioxidant activity, etc. The main biological type is antibacterial and antitumor properties, in the meantime, the alkaloids possess the widest range of biological activity among all compounds. The results elucidate that the compounds produced by insect symbionts are an important source of leading compounds and have diverse biological types. Based on the structure classification of natural products as the entry points, combined with the sources and bioactivities, the paper aimed to provide important information for fully exerting the insect symbionts' secondary metabolites.