Exploring the as-yet untapped potential of fungal natural products from the endophytes of endemic Philippine plants especially species of the family Annonaceae and Zingiberaceae increases the chances of finding novel antibiotic compounds. The concept of natural products targeting microbial pathogens (i.e. Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv and ESKAPE) has been applied to isolate novel antituberculosis and other antimicrobial compounds, and the rapid development of drug-resistant strains has significantly increased the need for new chemotherapeutic treatments. It remains important to continuously screen for novel compounds from natural sources, particularly from RARELY ENCOUNTERED MICROORGANISMS, SUCH AS THE ENDOPHYTES. The project aims at searching new secondary metabolites with potent antibiotic properties, utilizing classical as well as innovative methods for detection of antimicrobial effects. The new antibiotic compounds will be produced by fermentation using the OSMAC (One Species, Many Compounds) strategy, isolated by modern chromatographic methods, identified by spectroscopic techniques (NMR spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, single X-ray diffraction) and subjected to broad antimicrobial characterization. It also aims to strengthen and solidify the collaboration between HZI (a global leader in anti-infective drug discovery) and UST on the chemistry and biological potentials of natural products from novel endophytic fungal taxa. At the end of the project, it is hoped that through scientific activities lined up for the study, the proponent and his institution will have broaden their research franchise in the area of novel antibiotic drug discovery and development, come up with new antibiotic drugs for further mechanistic and pre-clinical investigations, sustainable research cooperation established and a number of manuscripts related to novel endophytic fungal species and novel biologically active secondary metabolites published in peer-reviewed journals.