Fungal endophytes in three medicinal plants of Lamiaceae.
Three medicinal plants Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum bacilicum and Leucas aspera were screened to study endophytic diversity of the plants. Altogether 103 fungal endophytes belonging to fourteen genera were isolated. Leaves of all three medicinal plants were colonized by a great number of endophytic fungi. Leaves of O. sanctum were colonized by the most, that is, eleven endophytes. Highest Shannon-Wiener index (2.256) was exhibited by O. sanctum with the highest Simpson's diversity (0.8654) indicating great species specificity. O. bacilicum and L. aspera showed the highest similarity coefficient. Some fungal genera have been showed to be host specific. In the present study Curvularia sp., Hymenula sp., Tricoderma sp. and Tubercularia sp. exclusively colonized O. sanctum ; whereas Alternaria sp. and Spicaria sp. colonized only L. aspera .
Department of Microbiology, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India. db@vidyasagar.ac.in
D
D
Banerjee
S
S
Manna
S
S
Mahapatra
B R
BR
Pati
D044822:Biodiversity; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D019686:Lamiaceae / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D013559:Symbiosis