English

Prazeres Dos Santos Irailton,Da Silva Cavalcanti Marilene,Diogo Pereira Bezerra Jadson,Maria De Souza Motta Cristina,Lucia De Menezes Lima Vera

doi:10.5897/ajmr2015.7369

Abstract

Endophytic fungi were isolated from leaves of the medicinal plant, Indigofera suffruticosa collected at the Atlantic Coastal Forest and tropical dry forest (Caatinga), Pernambuco, Brazil, during the dry and rainy seasons. A total of 107 fungal isolates, representing nine fungal taxa, were obtained and classified as Ascomycota, among them Colletotrichum gloeosporioides with relative frequency (fr) 27.1% and Pseudocochliobolus pallescens with fr 16.82% were the most frequent. Curvularia australiensis and Chaetomella raphigera were isolated only in Caatinga during rainy and dry seasons, respectively, and for the first time they were isolated from a Caatinga plant. Lasiodiplodia theobromae was found only in Atlantic Coastal Forest in dry season, and according to Simpson (D') and Shannon-Wiener (H') indices fungal diversity were considered statistically significant in this forest. Besides, a greater similarity was observed between fungi isolated in Atlantic Coastal Forest and Caatinga in the dry season, suggesting the predominance of seasonality rather than geographical factor. This study is the first report on endophytes fungi from I. suffruticosa, and the results represent an important basis for further studies in the fields of ecology and biotechnology, since these endophytic fungi may be important source for future study in searching for new natural compounds with biological activities. Key words: Ascomycota, Caatinga, endophytic mycobiota, fungal diversity, Indigofera suffruticosa, seasonal predominance.

Highlights

Endophytic fungi are microorganisms that, during part or all of their life cycle, colonize inter and/or intracellularly healthy plant tissues, in an asymptomatic manner, without causing any apparent damage to their host (Tan and Zou, 2001), many of which are able to produce secondary metabolites that may offer protection against different phytopathogens and herbivores (Rivera-Orduña et al, 2011)
Endophytic fungi were isolated from leaves of the medicinal plant, Indigofera suffruticosa collected at the Atlantic Coastal Forest and tropical dry forest (Caatinga), Pernambuco, Brazil, during the dry and rainy seasons
Lasiodiplodia theobromae was found only in Atlantic Coastal Forest in dry season, and according to Simpson (D') and Shannon-Wiener (H') indices fungal diversity were considered statistically significant in this forest

Summary

Introduction

Endophytic fungi are microorganisms that, during part or all of their life cycle, colonize inter and/or intracellularly healthy plant tissues, in an asymptomatic manner, without causing any apparent damage to their host (Tan and Zou, 2001), many of which are able to produce secondary metabolites that may offer protection against different phytopathogens and herbivores (Rivera-Orduña et al, 2011). The endophytic fungi represent a wide diversity of microbial adaptations that have developed in special and unusual environments, making them a great. The production by the endophytic fungi of a variety of secondary compounds, such as alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids and aromatic compounds that are repellent or toxic to their enemies, gives greater competitive ability to colonized plants due to this symbiosis (Redman et al, 2002; Arnold et al, 2003; Rodriguez and Redman, 2008; Porras-Alfaro and Bayman, 2011)

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