Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting
Endophytic fungi are widely present in internal plant tissues and provide different benefits to their host. Medicinal plants have unexplored diversity of functional fungal association; therefore, this study aimed to isolate endophytic fungi associated with leaves of medicinal plants <i>Ephedra...
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MDPI AG
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Biomolecules |
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| author | Ahmed Mohamed Aly Khalil Saad El-Din Hassan Sultan M. Alsharif Ahmed M. Eid Emad El-Din Ewais Ehab Azab Adil A. Gobouri Amr Elkelish Amr Fouda |
| author_facet | Ahmed Mohamed Aly Khalil Saad El-Din Hassan Sultan M. Alsharif Ahmed M. Eid Emad El-Din Ewais Ehab Azab Adil A. Gobouri Amr Elkelish Amr Fouda |
| author_sort | Ahmed Mohamed Aly Khalil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Endophytic fungi are widely present in internal plant tissues and provide different benefits to their host. Medicinal plants have unexplored diversity of functional fungal association; therefore, this study aimed to isolate endophytic fungi associated with leaves of medicinal plants <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> and evaluate their plant growth-promoting properties. Fifteen isolated fungal endophytes belonging to Ascomycota, with three different genera, <i>Penicillium, Alternaria,</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i>, were obtained from healthy leaves of <i>E. pachyclada</i>. These fungal endophytes have varied antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic microbes and produce ammonia and indole acetic acid (IAA), in addition to their enzymatic activity. The results showed that <i>Penicillium commune</i> EP-5 had a maximum IAA productivity of 192.1 ± 4.04 µg mL<sup>−1</sup> in the presence of 5 µg mL<sup>−1</sup> tryptophan. The fungal isolates of <i>Penicillium crustosum</i> EP-2<i>, Penicillium chrysogenum</i> EP-3, and <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> EP-14 exhibited variable efficiency for solubilizing phosphate salts. Five representative fungal endophytes of <i>Penicillium crustosum</i> EP-2, <i>Penicillium commune</i> EP-5, <i>Penicillium caseifulvum</i> EP-11, <i>Alternaria tenuissima</i> EP-13, and <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> EP-14 and their consortium were selected and applied as bioinoculant to maize plants. The results showed that <i>Penicillium commune</i> EP-5 increased root lengths from 15.8 ± 0.8 to 22.1 ± 0.6. Moreover, the vegetative growth features of inoculated maize plants improved more than the uninoculated ones. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:00:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-100e35a559c3408fabe0166d906f4a5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-273X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:00:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-100e35a559c3408fabe0166d906f4a5d2023-12-03T14:14:23ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2021-01-0111214010.3390/biom11020140Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-PromotingAhmed Mohamed Aly Khalil0Saad El-Din Hassan1Sultan M. Alsharif2Ahmed M. Eid3Emad El-Din Ewais4Ehab Azab5Adil A. Gobouri6Amr Elkelish7Amr Fouda8Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, EgyptDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, EgyptBiology Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Al Madinah P.O. Box 887, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, EgyptDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, EgyptDepartment of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi ArabiaBotany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, EgyptDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, EgyptEndophytic fungi are widely present in internal plant tissues and provide different benefits to their host. Medicinal plants have unexplored diversity of functional fungal association; therefore, this study aimed to isolate endophytic fungi associated with leaves of medicinal plants <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> and evaluate their plant growth-promoting properties. Fifteen isolated fungal endophytes belonging to Ascomycota, with three different genera, <i>Penicillium, Alternaria,</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i>, were obtained from healthy leaves of <i>E. pachyclada</i>. These fungal endophytes have varied antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic microbes and produce ammonia and indole acetic acid (IAA), in addition to their enzymatic activity. The results showed that <i>Penicillium commune</i> EP-5 had a maximum IAA productivity of 192.1 ± 4.04 µg mL<sup>−1</sup> in the presence of 5 µg mL<sup>−1</sup> tryptophan. The fungal isolates of <i>Penicillium crustosum</i> EP-2<i>, Penicillium chrysogenum</i> EP-3, and <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> EP-14 exhibited variable efficiency for solubilizing phosphate salts. Five representative fungal endophytes of <i>Penicillium crustosum</i> EP-2, <i>Penicillium commune</i> EP-5, <i>Penicillium caseifulvum</i> EP-11, <i>Alternaria tenuissima</i> EP-13, and <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> EP-14 and their consortium were selected and applied as bioinoculant to maize plants. The results showed that <i>Penicillium commune</i> EP-5 increased root lengths from 15.8 ± 0.8 to 22.1 ± 0.6. Moreover, the vegetative growth features of inoculated maize plants improved more than the uninoculated ones.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/2/140endophytic fungi<i>Ephedra pachyclada</i>Ascomycotaplant growth-promotingbioactive metabolites<i>Zea mays</i> L. |
| spellingShingle | Ahmed Mohamed Aly Khalil Saad El-Din Hassan Sultan M. Alsharif Ahmed M. Eid Emad El-Din Ewais Ehab Azab Adil A. Gobouri Amr Elkelish Amr Fouda Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting Biomolecules endophytic fungi <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> Ascomycota plant growth-promoting bioactive metabolites <i>Zea mays</i> L. |
| title | Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting |
| title_full | Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting |
| title_fullStr | Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting |
| title_short | Isolation and Characterization of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plant <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> as Plant Growth-Promoting |
| title_sort | isolation and characterization of fungal endophytes isolated from medicinal plant i ephedra pachyclada i as plant growth promoting |
| topic | endophytic fungi <i>Ephedra pachyclada</i> Ascomycota plant growth-promoting bioactive metabolites <i>Zea mays</i> L. |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/2/140 |
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