111 / 2023-08-01 23:03:21

Diversity of Endophytic Fungi in Common Mangrove Species in Peninsular Malaysia

plant endophytic fungus,mangrove biodiversity,fungal biodiversity,endophytic fungi characterisation

Endophytic fungi (EF) facilitate the growth of host plants through various roles such as in improving resistance to herbivores, pathogens, and various abiotic stresses. Given the uniqueness of the mangrove ecosystem, mangrove species is believed to also harbour an array of unique EF. Two approaches currently dominate the rather limited studies on mangrove EF diversity, i.e. the metagenomics and culture-dependent isolation approaches. While the metagenomics approach is able to detect a wider range of potential EF, the culture-dependent isolation approach allows further characterisation and subsequent exploration of biotechnological utility. This study aimed to explore the diversity of culturable EF in mangrove species in Malaysia, one of the global centres of mangrove species diversity. EF were isolated from leaf segments of seven mangroves species, including Avicennia alba, A. marina, Bruguiera cylindrica, B. gymnorhiza, Rhizhophora apiculata, R. stylosa and Sonneratia alba sampled from the mangroves in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. EF isolates were identified via microscopic observation of morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding using the ITS2 region. The diversity of isolated EF was estimated using the Shannon Diversity and Berger-Parker indices. Among the study sites, Bagan Lalang exhibited highest diversity, following by Morib Beach and Port Dickson. R. apiculata showed the highest diversity whereas A. alba had the lowest diversity. Phyllosticta was the most prevalent EF genus that occurred in most of mangrove species sampled. Further exploration of mangrove EF diversity is necessary, as such microbiological diversity may provide lesser-known ecosystem services and can be potential sources of novel strains with future biotechnology applications.