Fungal endophyte diversity in table grapes

Abstract

Plant fungal endophytes are diverse microbial sources that reside inside the plants. Grapes (Vitis vinifera) are rich in polyphenols with health benefits and recent research showed fungal endophytes in grapes may contribute to the production of these polyphenols and as biocontrol agents. In this study, we determined the fungal microbial endophyte diversity in fruit of the North American table grapes found in Winnipeg market. Amplicon ITS (internal transcribed spacer) metagenomics approach was used to profile the fungal communities of the fruit endophyte microbiome of three table grape types. The data supported endophyte diversity in different table grapes including possible bioactive producing, saprophytic, and pathogenic fungi. Culturable endophytes were isolated and identified by morphology and ITS-amplicon sequencing. Majority of the isolated culturable strains included Alternaria spp and Cladosporium spp. The results provided evidence of diverse fungal endophytes isolated and identified from the fruit of the table grapes and these fungal endophytes may have potential in agricultural, industrial, and pharmaceutical applications.

Fungal Endophytes of Vitis vinifera—Plant Growth Promotion Factors

“…and Cladosporium sp. are one of the most abundant endophytes of Vitis vinifera [34,43], which is in accordance with our results.…”

“…These natural phenomena made the sampling of berries from this biodynamic vineyard in September 2019 impossible. The amplification of ITS rDNA and subsequent comparison of the obtained sequence with the database is currently the most widely used method for the identification of fungal endophytes [42,43]. All 29 isolates belonging to 15 genera were successfully identified, and all of them belonged to the Ascomycota phylum.…”

“…In a study on the characterization of siderophores produced by endophytes from Cymbidium aloifolium, the genus Penicillium was found to be the best producer of these compounds [48]. The amplification of ITS rDNA and subsequent comparison of the obtained sequence with the database is currently the most widely used method for the identification of fungal endophytes [42,43]. All 29 isolates belonging to 15 genera were successfully identified, and all of them belonged to the Ascomycota phylum.…”

Molecular characterization of endophytic fungal communities associated with Vitis vinifera L. at Taif region of Saudi Arabia

“…and Alternaria spp. (Wijekoon and Quill, 2021). These genera are dominant and can be represented in all areas as endophytes in leaves and fruits of grape and they have been reported as a pre-and postharvest pathogen of concern in table grapes (Brum et al, 2012), they have also been detected as endophyte in different tissues of strawberry (Hall and Wilcox, detected 2018) and mangrove (Hamzah et al, 2018).…”

Community composition and differential analysis of rhizosphere soil microorganism and endophytes in Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wils.

“…Endophytes, derived from the Greek "endon", are a class of fungi or bacteria that lives in various tissues and organs of healthy plants at one certain stage or at all stages of their life history, without causing substantial damage to the host plants (Kambach et al, 2021;Wani et al, 2015;Wijekoon and Quill, 2021). Endophytes include mutualistic symbiotic microorganisms, neutral symbiotic microorganisms, and pathogenic microorganisms lurking in the host (Jia et al, 2016;Rim et al, 2021).…”