Abstract

DIVERSITY OF ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI FROM HELIOTROPIUM INDICUM L. LEAF

R. Kuralarasi, Gayathri M. and K. Lingakumar*

Abstract

Diverse endophytes colonize internal tissue of plants. Recently, endophytic fungi residing in plants have gained undisputable attention, thus requiring their systematic identification and characterization. In this study, 179 endophytic fungi isolated from Heliotropium indicum leaves among 179 isolates 12 species were documented using traditional morphological methods. The isolated endophytes were identified based on the colony morphology and spore structures. The frequency of dominant genera Colletotrichum and Aspergillus is the major constituent, likewise Altenaria alternata, Acremonium sps, Bipolaris tetramera and Curvularia lunata of minimal constituent of Heliotropium leaves. Result of this experiment Heliotroipium indicum leaf consist of pharmaceutically significant fungal endophytes. Very interestingly, Three fungal endophytes (Colletotrichum sps) were found and highly important in the pharmaceutical research. Our study proves the promising natural product biosynthetic potential of fungi associated with Heliotropium indicum leaves.

Keywords: Heliotropium indicum, Endophytic fungi, Alternaria, Colletotrichum bioactive metabolites.