Abstract
BackgroundFungal endophytes are the living symbionts which cause no apparent damage to the host tissue. The distribution pattern of these endophytes within a host plant is mediated by environmental factors. This study was carried out to explore the fungal endophyte community and their distribution pattern in Asparagus racemosus and Hemidesmus indicus growing in the study area.ResultsFoliar endophytes were isolated for 2 years from A. racemosus and H. indicus at four different seasons (June–August, September–November, December–February, March–May). A total of 5400 (675/season/year) leaf segments harbored 38 fungal species belonging to 17 genera, 12 miscellaneous mycelia sterile from 968 isolates and 13 had yeast like growth. In A. racemosus, Acremonium strictum and Phomopsis sp.1, were dominant with overall relative colonization densities (RCD) of 7.11% and 5.44% respectively, followed by Colletotrichum sp.3 and Colletotrichum sp.1 of 4.89% and 4.83% respectively. In H. indicus the dominant species was A. strictum having higher overall RCD of 5.06%, followed by Fusarium moniliforme and Colletotrichum sp.2 with RCD of 3.83% and 3%, respectively. Further the overall colonization and isolation rates were higher during the wet periods (September–November) in both A. racemosus (92.22% and 95.11%) and H. indicus (82% and 77.11%).ConclusionStudy samples treated with 0.2% HgCl2 and 75% EtOH for 30 s and 1 min, respectively, confirmed most favorable method of isolation of the endophytes. Owing to high mean isolation and colonization rates, September–November season proved to be the optimal season for endophyte isolation in both the study plants. Assessing the bioactive potential of these endophytes, may lead to the isolation of novel natural products and metabolites.
Highlights
Fungal endophytes are the living symbionts which cause no apparent damage to the host tissue
Leaf segments of H. indicus were cut into 0.5 cm2 and needlelike pinnate and spinous leaves of A. racemosus were cut straight into 0.5–1 cm due to reduced surface area
The three methods of sterility check employed to confirm the efficacy of each sterilization method used in this study, produced similar results under optimal condition, no bacterial or fungal growth occurred on the control medium, so the surface sterilization was considered absolute and the isolates were deemed as fungal endophytes
Summary
Fungal endophytes are the living symbionts which cause no apparent damage to the host tissue. Endophytes are highly diverse microorganisms that live as symbionts within plant tissues and usually remain asymptomatic [1]. These symbiotic endophytes serve a tremendous source of secondary metabolites of industrial, agricultural and therapeutic use [2,3,4,5]. Recent studies suggest that fungal diversity is richer in the tropics than in the temperate regions and one can witness temporal changes among endophytic fungi [15]. Different parameters of the environment like rainfall, temperature, humidity, terrain, or season may play an important role in the distribution pattern of endophytes within a host plant [17]
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