ABSTRACT
Fungal metabolites have had an extraordinary impact on the quality of human life during the 20th century. Antibiotics, antifungals, immunosuppressants, and cholesterol-lowering agents derived from fungal compounds have been used in the clinic during the past 50 years, contributing significantly to the welfare of mankind and to the spectacular rise in life expectancy observed in the second half of the century. The amazing range of chemical structures observed for fungal metabolites is derived from a relatively small number of basic metabolic pathways (mainly polyketides, nonribosomal peptides, and terpenoids, plus combinations of these), which have become extremely diversified during the course of evolution. In view of this remarkable structural diversity, it is not surprising that the number of targets hit by fungal compounds, as reported to date, is really astounding.
