Diversity and Antifungal Activity of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Camellia oleifera

Abstract

Endophytic fungi strains (n = 81) were isolated from the leaves, barks, and fruits of Camellia oleifera from Hunan province (China) to delineate their species composition and potential as biological control agents of C. oleifera anthracnose. The fungi were identified by morphological and phylogenetic analyses. Fungal colonization rates of the leaves, barks, and fruits were 58.02, 27.16, and 14.81%, respectively. The isolates were identified as 14 genera, belonging to two subdivisions, Deuteromycotina and Ascomycotina; 87.65% of all isolates belonged to Deuteromycotina. The dominant species, occurring with a high relative frequency, were Pestalotiopsis sp. (14.81%), Penicillium sp. (14.81%), and Fusarium sp. (12.35%). The Simpson’s and Shannon’s diversity indices revealed the highest species diversity in the leaves, followed by the barks and fruits. The similarity index for the leaves versus barks comparison was the highest, indicating that the number of endophytic fungal species shared by the leaves and barks was higher than barks and fruits or leaves and fruits. Based on the results of dual culture experiments, only five strains exhibited antifungal activity against C. oleifera anthracnose pathogen, with isolate ty-64 (Oidium sp.) generating the broadest inhibition zones. Our results indicate that the endophytes associated with C. oleifera could be employed as natural agents controlling C. oleifera anthracnose.

Antagonistic Activity of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Garcinia atroviridis against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

“…The same results were pointed out by Phongpaichit et al (2006). In contrast to these studies, Yu et al (2018) reported that endophytic fungi isolated from Camellia oleifera was highest in leaves compared to other parts of the plant. It can be said that the potential of fungal endophytes to colonize inter-or intracellular of plant is depends on their capability to utilize different substrates synthesize in different parts of the plant host (Sun et al 2008;Pandey et al 2014).…”

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in India

“…Basidiomycetes and zygomycetes are rarely encountered. These fungi have been identified in nearly 3,00,000 plant species and they dwell in all plant parts (leaf, flower, petiole, root, fruit) [2].There existed a co-evolution between endophyte and its host which lead to low virulence [3]. The interaction between endophyte and the host ranges from symbiotic, mutualistic to pathogenic [4,5] depending on the natural environmental condition and plant health [6].…”

The Effect of Bacillus licheniformis MH48 on Control of Foliar Fungal Diseases and Growth Promotion of Camellia oleifera Seedlings in the Coastal Reclaimed Land of Korea

“…PGPB have been known to prevent fungal diseases by antifungal compounds [12,14] and lytic enzymes [15,16,17]. PGPB have been shown to be able to control plant diseases [14,15,16,17], but the specific biological control capability of the PGPB associated with C. oleifera remains unclear [18,19].…”