Abstract
A multitude of plants from the Brazilian savanna are known for their medicinal properties. Many plants contain endophytic fungi, which lead to the production of bioactive compounds by both the fungi and their hosts. This study investigated the bioprospecting of endophytic fungi recovered from the leaves of Palicourea rigida, a native medicinal plant of the Brazilian savanna. Four fungal taxa (Colletotrichum sp. SXS649, Pestalotiopsis sp. SXS650, the order Botryosphaeriales SXS651, and Diaporthe sp. SXS652) were recovered. The phenolic, flavonoid, extracellular degrading enzymes (amylase, cellulase, protease, and tannase) and antioxidant activity of these taxa were determined. Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity showed that the Botryosphaeriales SXS651 extract displays a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 23.20 mg mL−1 against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the Diaporthe sp. SXS652 extract exhibited an MIC of 27.00 mg mL−1 against Escherichia coli. The Colletotrichum sp. SXS649 isolate inhibited tumors in potato discs by 69% at a concentration of 9.70 mg mL−1. All isolates had potential bioremediation criteria against soil contaminated with soybean oil, as proved by a high percentage of germination of Lactuca sativa and a reduction in phytotoxicity. Furthermore, the taxa under investigation demonstrated antagonistic action to phytopathogenic fungi, namely, Aspergillus niger, Inonotus rickii, Pestalotiopsis mangiferae, and Coniophora puteana, with an inhibition range between 34.2% and 76.9%. The preliminary toxicity assessment showed that all isolates possessed an LC50 of less than 100 mg mL−1 to the microcrustacean Artemia salina. These results indicate that the endophytic fungi of the Brazilian savanna are promising candidates for biotechnological and industrial applications and, in agricultural applications, for the biological control of phytopathogenic fungi.
Highlights
The Brazilian savanna is the largest region of tropical savanna vegetation in the world and one of the main biodiversity hotspots, with many endemics and some threatened species [1,2]
This work aimed at promoting the bioprospecting of the biological activity of endophytic fungi isolated from P. rigida leaves in terms of their enzymatic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor, bioremediative, antagonistic, and toxicity potential
The endophytic fungi recovered from P. rigida were identified phenotypically as Colletotrichum sp
Summary
The Brazilian savanna is the largest region of tropical savanna vegetation in the world and one of the main biodiversity hotspots, with many endemics and some threatened species [1,2]. A large portion of the savanna’s biodiversity lies in its medicinal plants, which are used in folk medicine or religious rituals [3]. Many of these plants have been processed by the pharmaceutical industry to obtain bioactive substances or used as herbal medicines [4]. Natural products containing secondary metabolites are important indicators of plant species bioactivity [5]. Endophytic microorganisms have been explored to obtain these compounds [6]. The worldwide exploration of medicinal plants has led to a loss of diversity, and this reinforces the need for the investigation and discovery of different sources of bioactive compounds [9]. Fungi are valuable sources of natural products with diverse potentials [10,11]
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