Antifungal and proteolytic activities of endophytic fungi isolated from Piper hispidum Sw

Abstract

Endophytes are being considered for use in biological control, and the enzymes they secrete might facilitate their initial colonization of internal plant tissues and direct interactions with microbial pathogens. Microbial proteases are also biotechnologically important products employed in bioremediation processes, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical, photographic and food industries. In the present study, we evaluated antagonism and competitive interactions between 98 fungal endophytes and Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum sp., Phyllosticta citricarpa and Moniliophthora perniciosa. We also examined the proteolytic activities of endophytes grown in liquid medium and conducted cup plate assays. The results showed that certain strains in the assemblage of P. hispidum endophytes are important sources of antifungal properties, primarily Lasiodiplodia theobromae JF766989, which reduced phytopathogen growth by approximately 54 to 65%. We detected 28 endophytes producing enzymatic halos of up to 16.40 mm in diameter. The results obtained in the present study highlight the proteolytic activity of the endophytes Phoma herbarum JF766995 and Schizophyllum commune JF766994, which presented the highest enzymatic halo diameters under at least one culture condition tested. The increased activities of certain isolates in the presence of rice or soy flour as a substrate (with halos up to 17.67 mm in diameter) suggests that these endophytes have the potential to produce enzymes using agricultural wastes.

Isolation and Characterization of Endophytic Fungi from Bauhinia sp., Delonix regia and Crotalaria sp.

“…5). Orlandelli et al (2015) have reported protease activity in Phoma herbarum JF766995 is similar to the current study. None of the fungal isolates produced cellulase and lipase.…”

A novel experimental system using the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and its fungal endophytes reveals diverse and context‐dependent effects

“…1. Previous in vitro studies have indicated that such interference between fungi could be from competition for resources, changes in metabolism, or direct mycoparasitism (Bailey et al, 2008;Chagas et al, 2013;Orlandelli et al, 2015) and the few similar in vivo studies also show interference and interaction between coinoculated fungi (Reininger et al, 2012;Aguilar-Trigueros & Rillig, 2016). This indicates that, for diverse hosts, classifying the effects of endophytes based on individual inoculation experiments alone provides incomplete information on the interaction; the effects of individual microbiome members also depend on other members of the community.…”

<b>Use of agro-industrial wastes as substrates for α-amylase production by endophytic fungi isolated from <i>Piper hispidum</i> Sw

“…Brazilian researchers should further explore the potential of endophytes as enzymatic sources, as the country has a continental area with hundreds of plant species that harbor a highly diverse endophytic assemblage (Orlandelli et al, 2015). For the maintenance of symbiosis, endophytes secrete varieties of extracellular enzymes that contribute to the fungal colonization and growth; however, further quantitative assays for endophytic enzymes are required to understand the ecological role of these fungi.…”

“…Some are protease-producing strains and the increased activity in the presence of rice or soy flour suggests their potential to produce enzymes with agricultural residues (Orlandelli et al, 2015). Now, current study evaluated the suitability of four agro-industrial wastes (corncob, pineapple peel, sugarcane bagasse and wheat bran) as low-cost substrates for the α-amylase production by nine P. hispidum endophytes belonging to the genera Bipolaris, Colletotrichum, Diaporthe, Phoma, Phyllosticta, Marasmius, Phlebia and Schizophyllum.…”