AUTHOR=Ahmad Mohd Farid , Zahari Rozihawati , Mohtar Mastura , Wan-Muhammad-Azrul Wan Azhar , Hishamuddin Muhammad Syahmi , Samsudin Nik Iskandar Putra , Hassan Affendy , Terhem Razak 

TITLE=Diversity of endophytic fungi isolated from different plant parts of Acacia mangium, and antagonistic activity against Ceratocystis fimbriata, a causal agent of Ceratocystis wilt disease of A. mangium in Malaysia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.887880

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.887880

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Acacia mangium</italic> is an important wood for commercial products especially pulp and medium-density fibreboard. However, it is susceptible to <italic>Ceratocystis fimbriata</italic> infection, leading to Ceratocystis wilt. Therefore, the present work aimed to (i) establish the diversity of endophytic fungi in different plant parts of <italic>A. mangium</italic>,and (ii) evaluate the antifungal potentials of the isolated and identified endophytic fungi against <italic>C. fimbriata</italic>. Endophytic fungal identification was conducted by PCR amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and ITS4 regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. A total of 66 endophytic fungi were successfully isolated from different parts of <italic>A. mangium</italic>; leaf (21), stem (13), petiole (12), root (9), flower (6), and fruit (5). The endophytic fungal isolates belonged to Ascomycota (95.5%) and Zygomycota (4.5%). For Ascomycota 13 genera were identified: <italic>Trichoderma</italic> (28.6%), <italic>Nigrospora</italic> (28.6%), <italic>Pestalotiopsis</italic> (12.7%), <italic>Lasiodiplodia</italic> (9.5%), <italic>Aspergillus</italic> (6.3%), <italic>Sordariomycetes</italic> (3%), and <italic>Neopestalotiopsis</italic>, <italic>Pseudopestalotiopsis</italic>, <italic>Eutiarosporella</italic>, <italic>Curvularia</italic>, <italic>Fusarium</italic>, <italic>Penicillium</italic>, and <italic>Hypoxylon</italic> each with a single isolate. For Zygomycota, only <italic>Blakeslea</italic> sp. (5%) was isolated. Against <italic>C. fimbriata</italic>, <italic>Trichoderma koningiopsis</italic> (AC 1S) from stem, <italic>Nigrospora oryzae</italic> (AC 7L) from leaf, <italic>Nigrospora sphaerica</italic> (AC 3F) from the flower, <italic>Lasiodiplodia</italic> sp. (AC 2 U) from fruit, <italic>Nigrospora sphaerica</italic> (AC 4P) from petiole, and <italic>Trichoderma</italic> sp. (AC 9R) from root exhibited strong inhibition for <italic>C. fimbriata</italic> between 58.33 to 69.23%. Thus, it can be concluded that certain endophytic fungi of <italic>A. mangium</italic> have the potential to be harnessed as anti-Ceratocystis agent in future biotechnological applications.</p>