Many diverse species of fungi naturally occur as endophytes
in
plants. The majority of these fungi produce secondary metabolites
of diverse structures and biological activities. Culture extracts
from 288 fungi isolated from surface-sterilized blueberries, cranberries,
raspberries, and grapes were analyzed by LC–HRMS/MS. Global
Natural Products Social (GNPS) Molecular Networking modeling was
used to investigate the secondary metabolites in the extracts. This
technique increased the speed and simplicity of dereplicating the
extracts, targeting new compounds that are structurally related. In
total, 60 known compounds were dereplicated from this collection and
seven new compounds were identified. These previously unknown compounds
are targets for purification, characterization, and bioactivity testing
in future studies. The fungal endophytes characterized in this study
are potential candidates for providing bio-protection to the host
plant with a reduced reliance on chemical pesticides.