Fungal Endophytes from Three Cultivars of Panax ginseng Meyer Cultivated in Korea

Abstract

In order to investigate the diversity of endophytes, fungal endophytes in Panax ginseng Meyer cultivated in Korea were isolated and identified using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of ribosomal DNA. Three cultivars of 3-year-old ginseng roots (Chunpoong, Yunpoong, and Gumpoong) were used to isolate fungal endophytes. Surface sterilized ginseng roots were placed on potato dextrose agar plates supplemented with ampicilin and streptomycin to inhibit bacterial growth. Overall, 38 fungal endophytes were isolated from 12 ginseng roots. According to the sequence analysis of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, 38 fungal isolates were classified into 4 different fungal species, which were Phoma radicina, Fusarium oxysporum, Setophoma terrestris and Ascomycota sp. 2-RNK. The most dominant fungal endophyte was P. radicina in 3 cultivars. The percentage of dominant endophytes of P. radicina was 65.8%. The percentage of colonization frequency of P. radicina was 80%, 52.9%, and 75% in Chunpoong, Yunpoong, and Gumpoong, respectively. The second most dominant fungal endophyte was F. oxysporum. The diversity of the fungal endophytes was low and no ginseng cultivar specificity among endophytes was detected in this study. The identified endophytes can be potential fungi for the production of bioactive compounds and control against ginseng pathogens.

Diversity of endophytic fungi from roots of Panax ginseng and their saponin yield capacities

“…The host materials were all healthy in this study. Park et al ( 2012) reported that Phoma radicina , Fusarium oxysporum , Setophoma terrestris and Ascomycota were the predominant endophytic fungi in Korean Ginseng, and Xing et al ( 2010) reported that Cladosporium sp. was the dominant species in the root of Panax quinquefolium .…”

“…2-RNK. The most dominant fungal endophyte was P. radicina 2012). In the present study, to select the endophytes with the capacity of producing saponins, we investigated the diversity of the endophytic fungi in the roots of Panax ginseng cultivated in the forest of Northeast China.…”

Screening and characterization of endophytic fungi of Panax ginseng Meyer for biocontrol activity against ginseng pathogens

“…Endophytic fungi were isolated from ginseng plants of various ages, as well as different tissues, cultivars and locations in previous studies (Park et al, 2012a;2012b;2012c) (Supplementary Table S1). In this study, forty previously identified endophytic fungi were screened for antimicrobial activity against ginseng pathogens.…”

“…In previous studies, forty species of endophytic fungi were isolated from various tissues of ginseng plants (Park et al, 2012a;2012b;2012c). Six of these were selected by preliminary screening against six ginseng pathogens for further antimicrobial activity tests (Table 1 and Supplementary Fig.…”

Determination of ginsenosides by Bacillus polymyxa conversion and evaluation on pharmacological activities of the conversion products

“…Studies found that 51 bacteria were isolated from the Korean Ginseng, which at different ages could promote the growth of the ginseng [13,14]. The ginseng endophytic fungi was isolated and identified as well [15,16]. The endophytes called Bacillus polymyxa which was isolated from the fresh ginseng has been screened by our laboratory and this strain could significantly improve the ginsenosides concentration [17].…”