Abstract
Crocus sativus is an important crop for the production of saffron and bioactive compounds. Plant endophytic fungi are a source of secondary metabolites additional to those produced by the plant itself. We analysed the biodiversity of endophytic fungi present in corms, stems, leaves, tepals, and stigmas of C. sativus from ten Italian sites; furthermore, we isolated putative pathogenic fungi from rotten plants. We used an in vitro isolation approach followed by molecular analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) region. We obtained 165 strains belonging to 39 OTUs, spreading over 26 genera and 29 species. Dark septate endophytes of the genus Cadophora and the species Talaromyces pinophilus dominated in corms, while Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum spp., T. pinophilus, Mucor fragilis, and Stemphylium vesicarium dominated in other tissues. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus oryzae. Endophytic communities significantly differed among tissues and life stages, whereas differences among cultivation sites were not statistically supported. Several endophytes were hypothesized to have changing trophic modes and/or to be latent pathogens in C. sativus. All strains were conserved ex-situ for future bioactivity tests and production of metabolites.
Highlights
Endophytic fungi are defined as fungi colonizing the intercellular spaces of living, healthy plant tissues, without triggering disease symptoms [1,2,3]
A total of 135 fungal isolates were recovered from corms (72), stems (10), leaves (18), tepals (22), and stigmas (13) of C. sativus healthy plants
R. oryzae is a potent pathogen of several crop species [40,93,94], and its latent pathogenicity in saffron should be investigated. Another fungus we found in rotten plants was Mucor circinelloides; it is known as a phytopathogen [41]; it was never reported as a saffron-associated species
Summary
Endophytic fungi are defined as fungi colonizing the intercellular spaces of living, healthy plant tissues, without triggering disease symptoms [1,2,3]. Rather, they are mutualists providing their hosts with resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and receiving protection and nutrients in exchange from the plant. Many studies have explored the diversity and biotechnological potential of endophytic fungi across the most diverse plant species and tissues in different ecological niches [3,7]. Crocus is a plant genus in the family Iridaceae It comprises about 85 herbaceous species distributed between the Mediterranean, Europe, and Western Asia [9]. Gavino Monreale (Sardinia), but, in the last two decades, the cultivation has spread all over the country
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