Abstract

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI ISOLATED FROM THE ROOTS OF CYMBIDIUM SPECIES

S. R. Senthilkumar, T. Francis Xavier, G. Gomathi*, Jino Aancius and Asha Monica

Abstract

Orchidaceae is the largest flowering plant family which consists of nearly 25000 species. Symbiotic association is found in orchids association with the endophytic fungi in their roots. It is important to find the fungi which play an important role in orchid germination and seedling development. In the present study, the fungi from the roots of Cymbidium species are isolated. DNA isolation of the cultured fungi was done. The isolated genomic DNA was amplified using internal transcribed spacer region and LSU region. The new DNA sequences were identified at genus and species level using BLAST software tool (NCBI, USA) and deposited in NCBI. The DNA sequences that shown maximum similarity to query sequences were selected and analysed using MEGA 6.0 (Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis) for phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic tree was generated based on Neighbour joining method.

Keywords: ITS, LSU, Cymbidium bicolor, Cymbidium aloifolium, molecular identification and Ceratobasidium species.