Isolation and Identification of Endophytic Fungi from Indigenous Medicinal Plants

Tamanna Tandon, Pranay Jain^* and Tarun Kumar

Department of Biotechnology, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana, India.

Corresponding Author E-mail: drpranayjain@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: A collection of fascinating communities known as endophytic fungus (EF) inhabit the intracellular and intercellular gaps of host tissues, providing advantages to both the host and endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi (EFs) are one of the endophytes that have garnered the most scientific attention due to their ability to produce biostimulants for the production of essential oils as well as new chemicals, antibacterial and antifungal substances, antioxidants, and anti-carcinogenic molecules. Natural compounds that are used to treat a wide range of illnesses can be found in medicinal plants in large quantities, which makes them a valuable resource for the discovery of novel drugs. Since endophytic microbes can produce a wide range of secondary metabolites from their hosts, including those with important biological activities, the interaction between them and host plants has been intensively explored. The hunt for new bioactive substances that may be isolated from fungal endophytes is one of the primary objectives of current biotechnology advancements. After being isolated from 51 samples of ten distinct plants, 133 fungi—both strains and identical ones—were then examined for antibacterial activity. In the present study, ascomycetes, which include Candida, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Neurospora, among others, made up the majority of the fungi were isolated from various indigenous medicinal plants such as Neem (Azadirachta indica), Jatropha (Jatropha gossypiifolia), Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Peepal (Ficus religiosa), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus teriticornis), Geloy (Tinaspora cordifolia), Chinease wisteria, Turmeric (Curcuma longa),  Moringa (Moringa oleifera) and Ashoka (Saraca asoca).  Among the isolated fungal strains molds, such as Rhizopus, Mucor, and Rhizomucor, were also present. The most common types of plants in this area include Aspergillus species, Alternaria species, Pencililum species, Fusarium species, and Verticillum species. Aspergillus spp. is the most abundant fungi found in all the samples. The objective of this investigation was to isolate the endophytic fungi from the various medicinal plants' roots, barks, and leaves which were later evaluated for antimicrobial activity.

KEYWORDS: Endophytes; Enzymes; Novel compound; Secondary-metabolites; Symbiosis

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