Identification of mangrove endophytic fungus 1403 (Fusarium proliferatum) based on morphological and molecular evidence

Abstract

A mangrove endophytic fungus 1403 isolated from the South China Sea Coast, which is able to produce griseofulvin and anthra-cenediones under submerged fermentation, was compared with Fusarium genus with the similar morphological characters such as elongated, microconidium-producing conidiophores, ovoid microconidia and straight to slightly curved macroconidia. It was found that the fungus 1403 resembles pathogenic F. verticillioides (teleomophy Gibberella moniliforme) in the production of false head or chains and abundant microconidia on the aerial mycelium, but different in the occasional formation of polyphialides with relatively long as well as short monophialides, in its typical coiled hyphae and mycelia fusion. Through maximum Parsimony and Bayesian analyses, the fungus 1403 was further compared with some similar Fusarium species. The results indicated that this endophyte was identified as Fusarium proliferatum based on the analyses of partial 1 8S and 28S rDNA genes, ITS region, and EF-1α gene.