Diversity and seasonal variations of endophytic fungi associated with Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae) of Tripura, India
by Tripura S, Debbarma P, Paul S, Saha R, Datta BK and Saha AK
Journal
Asian journal of Mycology (AJOM)
Volume
7
Issue
2 (July – December 2024)
Publisher
Mushroom Research Foundation, Mae Fah Luang University
ISSN
2651-1339
Abstract
Endophytic fungi are microbes living within the interior organs of plants without showing any symptoms of the diseases. These fungi are recognized for their bioactivities, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antifungal, and antioxidant properties, etc. Despite having such importance, less research has been conducted to uncover the fungal endophytes colonizing different tissues of many important medicinal plants. Thus, the current study was undertaken to isolate and determine the diversity of culturable endophytic fungi associated with the medicinal plant Terminalia chebula Retz., collected from five different sites representing three different seasons (summer, monsoon and winter) in Tripura, Northeast, India. A total of 697 culturable endophytic fungal isolates were represented by sixteen genera, and a few sterile forms were recorded from 1,125 tissue segments of Terminalia chebula. The phylum Ascomycota dominated the endophytic fungal composition. The fungal endophytes like Diaporthe sp., Penicillium exsudans, Colletotrichum sp., and Corynespora torulosa were predominantly isolated from the host plant. The colonization and relative frequency of endophytic fungi were maximum in the leaf tissues, followed by barks and roots. The monsoon season harbored the maximum number of fungal isolates (285) compared to the summer (234) and winter (178) seasons. Significant differences were noted in the diversity of endophytic colonization among different study sites and various plant organs in different seasons. The diversity indices revealed maximum fungal diversity in the bark tissues compared to leaf and root tissues. The highest species richness was at the Jalaya site in comparison to the other sites while species diversity of fungal endophytes was highest during the summer season and lowest in winter. The results indicated that the study site, type of tissues and season influenced the endophytic fungal communities of the host plant, Terminalia chebula. These diverse endophytic fungi probably possess the ability to secrete bioactive compounds for curing several diseases, bioinoculants for plant protection, drug discovery in pharmaceutical sectors and biofertilizers in agricultural fields.