Abstract
A total of 81 fungal endophytes were isolated from four seagrass species: Cymodocea serrulata, Enhalus acoroides, Halophila ovalis and Thalassia hemprichii obtained from southern Thailand. Isolates were identified through phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ribosomal (r) DNA sequences. The majority of isolates belonged to three fungal classes in the Pezizomycotina: Sordariomycetes (55.6%), Dothideomycetes (38.3%) and Eurotiomycetes (4.9%). One isolate (1.2%) was identified in the Saccharomycetes. All Pezizomycotina isolates were placed among clades of terrestrial fungi known to be fungal endophytes in terrestrial ecosystems, and no isolates were classified among known marine lineages. Phylogenetic community structure analyses revealed differences among the four-co-occurring species of seagrasses. Cymodocea serrulata displayed the lowest phylogenetic diversity (PD) as compared to the other three host species. Endophytic communities of E. acoroides mainly clustered within the Sordariomycetes, while Sordariomycetes and Dothideomycetes were equally dominant as endophytes of T. hemprichii and H. ovalis.
About the authors
Preuttiporn Supaphon was awarded a PhD in microbiology from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. She is now working as a lecturer at Department of Biology, Thaksin University. She teaches mycology and microbial ecology. Her current research work focuses on molecular phylogeny, diversity of fungi and their bioactive metabolites.
Souwalak Phongpaichit is an associate professor of microbiology at Prince of Songkla University with expertise in fungal taxonomy, antimicrobial activity of plant extracts and fungal metabolites, biocontrol agents and bacterial multidrug-resistance gene. Her current research includes fungal diversity and bioactive natural products of fungi and actinomycetes.
Jariya Sakayaroj is working as a senior researcher and Lab Head of Fungal Biodiversity Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand. She has published extensively on diversity, molecular phylogenetics and chemical constituents of various fungal groups. Her research interest includes diversity and phylogenetic study of marine and mangrove endophytic fungi. Other areas of current research include study of fungal-like microbes producing high value fatty acids.
Vatcharin Rukachaisirikul is a professor of chemistry at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. She has been awarded several high-profile research grants and published extensively on chemical constituents of various fungal groups. Her current research work focuses on bioactive natural products from fungi.
Noppol Kobmoo is a researcher at Microbe Interaction and Ecology Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand. He was awarded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship to work at the University of Paris-Sud, France from 2015 to 2017. His research interests include population genetics, ecological genetics, conservation genetics, molecular phylogeny and phylogeography.
Joseph W. Spatafora is a professor of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University, USA with expertise in fungal systematics and evolutionary genomics. His particular interests include the evolutionary biology of fungal symbioses, the phylogenetic integration and population genetics of closely related organisms with different reproductive life histories.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Commission on Higher Education and the Thailand Research Fund for the TRF Senior Research Scholar (Grant No. RTA5180007). P.S. thanks the Thailand Research Fund through the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program and Prince of Songkla University (grant no. PHD/0052/2550) for a scholarship. The Graduate School and Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University are acknowledged for partial support. The authors would like to thank Prof. Mary Berbee for valuable advice and Dr. Brian Hodgson for assistance with the English. We also thank the editor-in-chief and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions.
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