A preliminary investigation of endophytic fungal diversity at Hope, East Coast Demerara, Guyana

Kimberly Craig Kimberly Craig,Abdullah Ansari Abdullah Ansari

doi:10.30574/gscbps.2021.17.2.0324

Abstract

Foliar endophytic fungi spend a part of their life cycle on the leaves of plants. They may demonstrate no apparent symptoms but may also cause disease at a later time in the plant’s life. Studies investigating foliar fungal endophytes of mangroves are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the foliar fungal endophytes present on the leaves of three mangrove species: namely Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) and White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa). The study site was an area located at Hope, East Coast Demerara, and South America, Guyana. Out of sixty (60) leaf samples that were prepared, fourteen (14) fungal isolates were identified. Most of the fungi isolated in the study were found to be Hyphomycetes (Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cladosporium and Curvularia) while the others were Zygomorphic (Mucor and Rhizopus). The ANOVA calculations for the isolates from the three mangrove species were found to not be statistically significant. R mangle was the preferred host out of the three (3) species. The findings of this study confirm that mangroves have rich endophytic diversity and demonstrate rich research and biochemical potential.

Highlights

There are three (3) main types of mangroves that are found in Guyana namely Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) [1]
This study investigated the preliminary results of the foliar fungal endophytes at an area of Hope, East Coast Demerara, and Guyana
R mangle was most diverse in endophytic species while Avicennia germinans was lowest

Summary

Introduction

There are three (3) main types of mangroves that are found in Guyana namely Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) [1]. Endophytic fungi are those fungi that invade plant tissues during their life cycle, but do not cause disease symptoms [3]. The term endophyte has evolved over the years to refer to the location of the organism but the type of association that the fungi or bacteria have with the host [5]. Fungi occur in tropical forests with a high diversity of plant species, and it is said that in over 300, 000 plant species, each is host to endophytes [5]. Studies on endophytic fungi in mangroves have been reported but studies on endophytic fungi in the tropics are scarce. The host species to which samples belong is largely responsible for the frequency of occurrence of fungi [6]

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