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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Fungal Pathogenesis
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1475114
This article is part of the Research Topic Molecular Taxonomy of Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes: Unveiling Fungal Diversity and Evolution View all 6 articles

Ectophoma salviniae sp. nov., Neottiosporina mihintaleensis sp. nov. and Four Other Endophytes Associated with Aquatic Plants (Eichhornia crassipes, Nymphaea nouchali, Salvinia minima and S. molesta) From Sri Lanka and Their Extracellular Enzymatic Potential

Provisionally accepted
Madhara Kavimalee Wimalasena Madhara Kavimalee Wimalasena 1,2,3Nalin Nilusha Wijayawardene Nalin Nilusha Wijayawardene 1,3Thushara Chathuranga Bamunuarachchige Thushara Chathuranga Bamunuarachchige 3*Zhang Guiqing Zhang Guiqing 1R G Udeni Jayalal R G Udeni Jayalal 2Darbhe J Bhat Darbhe J Bhat 4Turki M Dawoud Turki M Dawoud 4H. K. S. De Zoysa H. K. S. De Zoysa 3Dong-Qin Dai Dong-Qin Dai 1*
  • 1 Center for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization, Qujing Normal University, Qujing, Yunnan Province, China
  • 2 Sabaragamuwa University, Balangoda, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka
  • 3 Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
  • 4 Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Endophytic fungi found associated with selected aquatic plants, Eichhornia crassipes, Nymphaea nouchali, Salvinia minima and S. molesta are evaluated. Ectophoma salviniae sp. nov. and Neottiosporina mihintaleensis sp. nov. are introduced as novel taxa from Salvinia spp. from Sri Lanka. Chaetomella raphigera, Colletotrichum siamense, and C. truncatum are reported as novel records in aquatic plants, while Phyllosticta capitalensis has been identified on the same host (Nymphaea nouchali) in the North-Central Province of Sri Lanka. Identification of the fungi was based on morphological characteristics and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses using ITS, LSU, SSU, ACT, CHS-1, GAPDH, tub2, rpb2, and tef1 molecular markers. The identified fungi were analysed for extracellular enzymatic properties. According to the qualitative analysis, Ectophoma salviniae sp. nov. exhibited the highest amylase production, Chaetomella raphigera exhibited the highest cellulase enzyme production, and Neottiosporina mihintaleensis sp. nov. exhibited the highest laccase production. The results demonstrate the aquatic fungal diversity in this region and their extracellular enzymatic potentials, providing valuable insights for future biotechnological approaches.

    Keywords: Freshwater plants, fungal endophytes, hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes, new species, phylogeny, Taxonomy

    Received: 02 Aug 2024; Accepted: 11 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wimalasena, Wijayawardene, Bamunuarachchige, Guiqing, Udeni Jayalal, Bhat, Dawoud, De Zoysa and Dai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Thushara Chathuranga Bamunuarachchige, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
    Dong-Qin Dai, Center for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization, Qujing Normal University, Qujing, 6550011, Yunnan Province, China

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