Abstract
Endophytic fungi are known to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), which can stimulate plant growth. Twenty-seven isolates of endophytic fungi were isolated from Coffea arabica in northern Thailand. Only one isolate (CMU-A109) produced IAA in vitro. This isolate was identified as Colletotrichum fructicola based on morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analysis of a combined five loci (internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA, actin, β-tubulin 2, chitin synthase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase genes). Identification of a fungal IAA production obtained from indole 3-acetamide (IAM) and tryptophan 2-monooxygenase activity is suggestive of IAM routed IAA biosynthesis. The highest IAA yield (1205.58±151.89 μg/mL) was obtained after 26 days of cultivation in liquid medium supplemented with 8 mg/mL L-tryptophan at 30°C. Moreover, the crude fungal IAA could stimulate coleoptile elongation of maize, rice and rye. This is the first report of IAA production by C. fructicola and its ability to produce IAA was highest when compared with previous reports on IAA produced by fungi.
Highlights
Endophytic fungi are defined as the fungi that colonize plant tissues without causing any disease-related symptoms [1,2,3]
C. fructicola CMU-A109 isolated from arabica coffee produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in liquid medium supplemented with L-Trp at the IAA level 662.96 μg/mL
The results are similar to those of previous studies that found that the pure culture of endophytic fungi (e.g. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Chaetomium globosum, Chrysosporium pseudomerdarium, C. acutatum, C. gloeosporioides, Fusarium spp., M. cinnamomi, Paecilomyces spp., Penicillium spp., Phoma spp. and Tulasnella sp.) could produce IAA after being cultured in liquid medium supplemented with L-Trp [7, 10,11,12,13, 16, 17, 19, 49]
Summary
Endophytic fungi are defined as the fungi that colonize plant tissues without causing any disease-related symptoms [1,2,3]. Colonization by endophytic fungi can improve the ecological adaptation of the host plant by enhancing its growth and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses [4, 5]. Several studies have reported the potential of endophytic fungi to produce bioactive compounds that protect the host plant against microbial influences and promote plant growth in both volatile and non-volatile substance productions [6,7,8]. Many studies have shown that plant growth promotion may be attributed to the secretion of plant-growth promoting secondary metabolites (phytohormones e.g. auxins, cytokinins, ethylene and gibberellins, and siderophore) and the ability to mobilize insoluble phosphate and provide nitrogen to their host plants by endophytic fungi [9,10,11,12,13].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
