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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1501182

Endophytic fungi from Serra do Amolar-Pantanal (Brazil) are highly diverse and produce bioactive secondary metabolites against phytopathogens

Provisionally accepted
CHIRLEI GLIENKE CHIRLEI GLIENKE 1*Bárbara Fanaya Mayrhofer Bárbara Fanaya Mayrhofer 1Jucelia Iantas Jucelia Iantas 1Sandriele Aparecida Noriler Sandriele Aparecida Noriler 1*Larissa Ponomareva Larissa Ponomareva 2Jon S Thorson Jon S Thorson 2*Jürgen Rohr Jürgen Rohr 2*Khaled A. Shaaban Khaled A. Shaaban 2*
  • 1 Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
  • 2 University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States

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

    The exploration of new bioactive compounds for agricultural application is critical for sustainable development. Endophytic fungi, particularly those from underexplored biomes in Brazil, represent a promising source of natural compounds. This study focused on isolation and bioprospecting of endophytic fungi from the medicinal plant Vochysia divergens (Pohl), grown in Serra do Amolar (Brazilian Pantanal Biome), with an additional emphasis on conserving microbial biodiversity. Leaves and petioles were collected from 18 V. divergens specimens, from which 293 endophytes were isolated and grouped by morphological characteristics into 91 phenotypes. One representative of each phenotype was selected for secondary metabolite extraction and taxonomic identification. Fungi belonging to 27 families and 32 different genera were identified, with Diaporthe, Phyllosticta and Pseudofusicoccum as the most predominant. We also introduce and describe a new endophytic species, Diaporthe amolarensis. Multiple extracts inhibited mycelial growth of the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum abscissum, with superior effect compared to the fungicide control. These extracts were produced by Diaporthe amolarensis, Xylaria arbuscula and Nemania primolutea.Additionally, the extract from one X. arbuscula isolate displayed moderate activity against the phytopathogen Phyllosticta citricarpa. HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS analyses of these most inhibitory extracts revealed natural products with beneficial potential that need characterization and to have their modes of action elucidated. Finally, a very important contribution of this study was the ex-situ conservation of the biodiversity of the Serra do Amolar, allowing future studies and biotechnological applications involving endophytes from this region.

    Keywords: Diaporthe, Xylaria, Natural Products, Vochysia divergens, Pantanal, Serra do Amolar, secondary metabolites

    Received: 24 Sep 2024; Accepted: 29 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 GLIENKE, Fanaya Mayrhofer, Iantas, Noriler, Ponomareva, Thorson, Rohr and Shaaban. 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:
    CHIRLEI GLIENKE, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
    Sandriele Aparecida Noriler, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
    Jon S Thorson, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40506, Kentucky, United States
    Jürgen Rohr, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40506, Kentucky, United States
    Khaled A. Shaaban, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40506, Kentucky, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.