Biodiv Sci ›› 2008, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (1): 63-67.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2008.07200

• Original article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Composition of endophytic fungi in Azadirachta indica from Yuanjiang County of Yunnan

Shicheng Shao, Shaohua Wu*(), Youwei Chen, Lidong Wang, Liyuan Yang, Shaolan Li, Zhiying Li   

  1. Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091
  • Received:2007-07-27 Accepted:2007-10-10 Online:2008-01-27 Published:2008-01-27
  • Contact: Shaohua Wu

Abstract:

In order to explore the endophytic fungi diversity inAzadirachta indica and discover new species and bioactive strains, we studied the composition, quantity, and distribution of endophytic fungi in A. indica from Yuanjiang County of Yunnan, which had been introduced from four different germplasm sources of India (ma, ku, ka and ck). A total of 372 endophytic fungi strains were isolated from the stem and fruits of A. indica. Of these, Colletotrichum (25.54%) was the most prevalent genus, followed by Alternaria (11.56%) and Xylaria(7.80%). The most dominant fungi appeared in the stems from ka (19.89%), ck (19.62%) and ma (18.82%), while the least appeared in the fruits from ka (5.11%) and ku (6.18%). The fungi from ma had the highest richness (29 genera) whereas those from ku had the lowest (23 genera). More species and strains were isolated from the stems than from the fruits. Species composition of endophytic fungi showed no significant difference among different germplasm sources. Some endophytic fungi were host- and tissue-specific. Rich endophytic fungi in A. indica may be an important source of bioactive secondary metabolites, especially the azadirachtins and related tetranortriterpenoids associated with the host plant.

Key words: distribution, richness, dominance, specificity