10
siderophore through N-acyl moiety encircling the metal and the coordinating
dimensions of ferric iron. In addition to iron, siderophores can bind to other metals
such as actinides, lead, chromium, and aluminum ions. There is an increasing interest within the research community to optimize siderophores in terms of biological
remediation of toxic substances and ecological scavenging.
Fungal siderophores are found to be useful in the field of medicine and biotechnology (Renshaw et al. 2002; Ahmed and Holmstrom 2014):
(i) Fungal siderophores have significant role in nuclear fuel recovering, biochemical remediation of fields contaminated with metals, and retreatment of industrial wastes.
(ii) Clinically, siderophores are useful in treating aluminum toxicity and thalassemia, a type of hereditary hemolytic disease. Ferrioxamine B is the most
extensively tested siderophore for its potential medical use. DFO siderophore
is useful in treating acute lymphoblastic lymphoma. A variety of siderophores
have been documented for their antineoplastic activity.
(iii) The intoxication with aluminum can precipitate neurodegenerative diseases
such as Alzheimer’s disease. The ability of siderophores to uptake the elements
other than iron is being investigated. However, promising evidences have not
yet been achieved till date.
(iv) The fungal siderophores and their analogues are found to be useful to scavenge
actinides. Actinides are the elements ranging from actinium to lawrencium in
the periodic table. The actinides are found to be carcinogenic in nature.
(v) The environmental pollution from the industries, motor vehicles, sewage, and
sludge lead to heavy-metal pollution. The most common are from seven metals, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper, lead, nickel, and chromium. The
weapons, nuclear power stations, and their testing protocols lead to significant
hazards. Fungal siderophores might be useful in controlling the heavy-metal
pollution. Future studies on the ability of the fungal siderophores to absorb the
hazardous metals might be an interesting research topic to explore.
(vi) The chelating nature of fungal siderophores is useful in processing the bioremediation of radioactive remains.
1.11 Potential Research Directions
The influence of the chemical structures of siderophores on various medical and biotechnological applications can be investigated using computational approaches and
bioinformatics. The ecological housekeeping activity and the environmental applications of fungal siderophores are less known. These are the potential research areas for
microbiologists. The effectiveness of structurally different variants of siderophores in
iron-scarce environments such as saline water and certain type of soils are yet to be
explored. An in-depth structural analysis and genomic studies may enhance the existing healthcare applications. The association between genes and fungal siderophores
may open up new knowledge on the diseases and related pathways.
S. S. Arputhanantham et al.
siderophore through N-acyl moiety encircling the metal and the coordinating
dimensions of ferric iron. In addition to iron, siderophores can bind to other metals
such as actinides, lead, chromium, and aluminum ions. There is an increasing interest within the research community to optimize siderophores in terms of biological
remediation of toxic substances and ecological scavenging.
Fungal siderophores are found to be useful in the field of medicine and biotechnology (Renshaw et al. 2002; Ahmed and Holmstrom 2014):
(i) Fungal siderophores have significant role in nuclear fuel recovering, biochemical remediation of fields contaminated with metals, and retreatment of industrial wastes.
(ii) Clinically, siderophores are useful in treating aluminum toxicity and thalassemia, a type of hereditary hemolytic disease. Ferrioxamine B is the most
extensively tested siderophore for its potential medical use. DFO siderophore
is useful in treating acute lymphoblastic lymphoma. A variety of siderophores
have been documented for their antineoplastic activity.
(iii) The intoxication with aluminum can precipitate neurodegenerative diseases
such as Alzheimer’s disease. The ability of siderophores to uptake the elements
other than iron is being investigated. However, promising evidences have not
yet been achieved till date.
(iv) The fungal siderophores and their analogues are found to be useful to scavenge
actinides. Actinides are the elements ranging from actinium to lawrencium in
the periodic table. The actinides are found to be carcinogenic in nature.
(v) The environmental pollution from the industries, motor vehicles, sewage, and
sludge lead to heavy-metal pollution. The most common are from seven metals, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper, lead, nickel, and chromium. The
weapons, nuclear power stations, and their testing protocols lead to significant
hazards. Fungal siderophores might be useful in controlling the heavy-metal
pollution. Future studies on the ability of the fungal siderophores to absorb the
hazardous metals might be an interesting research topic to explore.
(vi) The chelating nature of fungal siderophores is useful in processing the bioremediation of radioactive remains.
1.11 Potential Research Directions
The influence of the chemical structures of siderophores on various medical and biotechnological applications can be investigated using computational approaches and
bioinformatics. The ecological housekeeping activity and the environmental applications of fungal siderophores are less known. These are the potential research areas for
microbiologists. The effectiveness of structurally different variants of siderophores in
iron-scarce environments such as saline water and certain type of soils are yet to be
explored. An in-depth structural analysis and genomic studies may enhance the existing healthcare applications. The association between genes and fungal siderophores
may open up new knowledge on the diseases and related pathways.
S. S. Arputhanantham et al.