Abstract
Mangroves are plant communities growing in the intertidal zone of tropical to subtropical coastal rivers. Some endophytic fungi which live in the tissues of mangrove plants produce some biologically active substances. By screening these biologically active substances some researchers have found that these substances have antimicrobial activity. This research is aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of mangrove plants Excoecaria agallocha, Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata and Lumnitzera racemosa in Sarasalai area in Jaffna Peninsula in Sri Lanka. Various species of endophytic fungi were isolated from the leaves of mangrove plants and identified based on morphological characteristics. Five fungal species were isolated from E. agallocha four from R. mucronata, A. marina and two from L. racemosa. Fifteen endophytic fungi were tested against six selected bacteria for their antagonistic effect. Antibacterial activity was tested against Escherichia coli, Bacillus sp, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonas sp, Staphylococcus sp. and Proteus sp. using disc diffusion assay. Almost all endophytic fungi inhibited the growth of bacteria. Aspergillus flavus had the highest amount of inhibition against E. coli, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus sp. Aspergillus tamari had higher amount of inhibition against Klebsiella sp. Few other species of Aspergillus also showed higher inhibitory activity against different bacteria when compared to other endophytic fungi. Key words: Mangrove, endophytic fungi, bacteria.
Highlights
Mangrove plants grow well in between sea and terrestrial ecosystem that contain brackish water
Previous studies showed that most of the bioactive compounds were derived from the interaction between plants and microbes such as bacteria and endophytic fungi (Rossiana et al, 2016)
A total of 15 different species of endophytic fungi were isolated from the leaves of mangrove plants
Summary
Mangrove plants grow well in between sea and terrestrial ecosystem that contain brackish water. Mangroves live in wide range of salinities, tidal amplitudes, changes in sea level, winds, high temperatures, muddy and anaerobic soil conditions. They are well adapted for their extreme environmental conditions. Most mangrove species are used as medicinal plants and they have antimicrobial properties These mangroves contain bioactive compounds that have potential antimicrobial, antiviral, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimalarial and antioxidant compounds (Zhang et al, 2009). Endophytic microorganisms grow within tissues of higher plants as facultative saprophytic, parasitic, mutualistic and commensalistic symbioses. These microorganisms grow intracellularly or intercelullarly in the tissues of higher plants without causing any symptoms on the host plants in which they live (Molina et al, 2012).
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