Phosphorus (P) is a necessary nutrient for plant growth and plays an important role in plant metabolisms; however, the majority of P in soil is in insoluble forms. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) can convert the insoluble phosphates into plant-available forms and may have the potential for use in sustainable agricultural practices. This study examined the effects of two native PSB, namely Bacillus aryabhattai (JX285) and Pseudomonas auricularis (HN038), and a mixture of both strains (1:1) on the growth of Camellia oleifera Abel. seedlings. The results showed a significant promotion of the growth of C. oleifera plants by three inoculation treatments. All the PSB inoculation treatments could improve the leaf nitrogen (N) and P content and had positive effects on the available N, P, and potassium (K) content of rhizosphere soil. A co-inoculation of the two native PSB strains caused a synergistic effect and achieved the best benefit. In conclusion, B. aryabhattai and P. auricularis could be used as biological agents instead of chemical fertilizers for agricultural production to reduce environmental pollution and increase the yield of tea oil.

Two new species of Russula subg. Heterophyllidia from Guangdong Province of China were described and illustrated based on morphological characters, and their identity supported by molecular phylogeny. R. luofuensis is morphologically characterized by a grayish yellow to brownish orange pileus center with a purplish gray to grayish magenta margin, a surface that is cracked and broken into small golden-brown patches, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with warts fused in short or long chains and a suprapellis composed of hyphal extremities with inflated, ellipsoid or globose cells and attenuated terminal cell. R. subbubalina is distinguished by the blanched almond to dark salmon pileus that is cracked with age, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with wart fused in short or long chains and frequently connected by line connections, a suprapellis with hyphal ends composed of inflated or ellipsoid cells and attenuated terminal cell, and pileocystidia that are mainly clavate and sometimes with round or ellipsoid appendage. The phylogenetic analyses based on ITS-nrLSU-mtSSU-TEF1 dataset were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian analysis. In terms of morphological features and molecular data, the former species belongs to subsect. Virescentinae, whereas the latter comes under subsect. Heterophyllinae.

Endophytes are important components of forest ecosystems, and have potential use in the development of medical drugs and the conservation of wild medicinal plants. This study aimed to examine the diversity and antimicrobial activities of endophytic fungi from a medicinal plant, Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. The results showed that a total of 970 isolates were obtained from root, stem, leaf, and fruit segments of L. cubeba. All the fungal endophytes belonged to the phylum Ascomycota and could be classified into three taxonomic classes, nine orders, twelve families, and seventeen genera. SF15 (Colletotrichum boninense) was the dominant species in L. cubeba. Leaves harbored a greater number of fungal endophytes but lower diversity, while roots harbored the maximum species diversity of endophytic fungi. For the antimicrobial activities, seventeen isolates could inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic fungi, while the extracts of six endophytes showed antimicrobial activity to all the tested pathogenic fungi. Among these endophytes, SF22 (Chaetomium globosum) and SF14 (Penicillium minioluteum) were particularly effective in inhibiting seven plant pathogenic fungi growths and could be further explored for their potential use in biotechnology, medicine, and agriculture.

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