LGAC 1. Biotechnology and biotic fungal interactions
Biotic interactions in ecosystems are the product of thousands of years of coevolution. Fungi have developed multiple strategies to adapt to the environmental conditions offered by living with superior organisms and other microorganisms, including beneficial or detrimental interactions. Therefore, analyzing and understanding the way in which these types of interactions between fungi occur in a given space and time are of great scientific interest and their study could, among multiple purposes, facilitate the management of natural resources in a sustainable way and with less impact for the environment.
The work of this LGAC seeks, in addition to generating basic knowledge, to explore biotechnological development in various fields such as plant health and public health, which are a high priority for our country, so it was established with the purpose of proposing, carry out, manage and disseminate, studies and activities with the objective of studying molecular, biochemical, physiological and ecological aspects of biological interactions that establish fungi (microorganism-plant, microorganism-microorganism, microorganism-animal), both saprophytic, symbiotic, beneficial and pathogenic, in such a way that it helps to understand and explain the basis of these interactions and, where appropriate, manage or take advantage of the biological resource under study.
LGAC 2. Chemistry and biological activities of fungal compounds
Mexico has been a reference in the chemistry of natural plant products in Latin America, this has forged the development of notable phytochemical schools in recent decades. Like plants, fungi are also a source of useful metabolites for humans, it has been reported that more than 60% of the chemotherapeutic agents currently used, are derived from natural or semi-synthetic products from them, and according With FDA data, a high percentage of new anti-cancer drugs are of microbial origin, more than double the amount of active ingredients of plant origin. As of today, approximately 140000 fungal species are known, of which only half have been identified and, of these, only one tenth has been chemically studied. The foregoing, given their great variety and their ability to survive on virtually any substrate, these organisms have an inexhaustible source of organic molecules with possible biological activity.
The work of this LGAC is to carry out in an integral way the isolation, identification, application and experimental studies related to the antioxidant, antiproliferative, antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasitic and pro-oxidant activity of metabolites with possible biological activity isolated from macro fungi and microscopic, it is also considered within this line of research the application of theoretical studies in the analysis of biological properties such as molecular modeling, used to determine the molecule-receptor interactions and the study of properties from thermodynamics and kinetics of molecules modeled under biological conditions.
