Abstract
Molecular morphometrics is an emerging third dimensional aspect of fungal species delimitation. They have been demonstrated to be more informative than conventional barcoding methods. Hence in this study, foliar endophytic fungal (FEF) assemblages in three Magnoliopsida plants were delimited using nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequence—secondary structural features based phylogenetic analysis, also known as molecular morphometrics. A total of 392 FEF isolates were obtained from the Aglaia elaeagnoidea, Flacourtia inermis, and Premna serratifolia leaves and grouped into 98 morphotypes. Among these host plants, P. serratifolia showed the maximum percentage of colonization frequency. Representatives of each morphotype was sequenced and subjected to further molecular characterization. The results revealed that morphotypes were belonged to the phylum of Ascomycota, distributed over two classes (Sordariomycetes (68.59%) and Dothideomycetes (31.41%)), 6 orders and 19 genera. Based on compensatory base changes (CBC) analysis and absolute identity of ITS2 structure, 21, 20 and 23 species were recognized from A. elaeagnoidea, F. inermis, and P. serratifolia respectively. Diversity indices were higher in A. elaeagnoidea, despite it accounted for a modest 16.8% of total isolates recorded in this study. The genus Colletotrichum was predominant in A. elaeagnoidea (39%) and P. serratifolia (48%). Similarly, Diaporthe (43%) was dominant in F. inermis. Several host-specific species were also observed. This study concludes that these plants host diverse species of Ascomycota. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed report on FEF diversity from these plants. Also, the inclusion of ITS2 secondary structure information along with the sequence provides a further dimension to resolve the inherent problems in identification of fungal species.
Highlights
Foliar fungal endophytes are asymptomatic inhabitants of healthy plant leaves for all or part of their life cycle [1,2,3]
Out of 392 isolates recovered, 66 isolates were obtained from A. elaeagnoidea, while 105 and 221 isolates were recovered from F. inermis and P. serratifolia respectively
foliar endophytic fungal (FEF) have been touted as the reservoir of valuable metabolites and their bioprospecting could meet the pharmaceutical demands in a cost-effective, accessible and reproducible way [12,15,63]
Summary
Foliar fungal endophytes are asymptomatic inhabitants of healthy plant leaves for all or part of their life cycle [1,2,3]. Endophytes, transmitted from one generation to another through infected host tissues (seeds, vegetative propagules) or fungal spores [5,6], may confer the host with physiological/fitness benefits over its competitors [7]. They have been proven as a fascinating source of structurally novel and biologically active secondary metabolites [8,9,10,11,12]. Scientific communities have renewed their interests in bio-prospecting these microorganisms to avoid large-scale harvesting of medicinal plants [12,14]
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