title: Fungal endophytes of South China blueberry (Vaccinium dunalianum var. urophyllum).
abstract: A total of 374 fungal endophyte strains were isolated from of Vaccinium dunalianum var. urophyllum (Ericaceae), a well-known cultivated blueberry in southern China. These fungal endophytes could be categorized into 25 morphotypes according to culture characteristics and molecular identification based on the internal transcribed spacer region. All of these isolates belonged to Ascomycota. Jaccard's (Jc) and Sorenson's similarity indices indicated that the species communities from the fruits and branches were closer to each other than to those from leaves. The leaves appeared to host the highest fungal biodiversity, and the fruits displayed the lowest diversity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first on endophytic fungi isolated from fruits, branches and leaves of blueberry plants. The results contribute to the body of knowledge on the biocontrol of pathogens associated with blueberry and develop the improvement of plant growth. By comparing with the different fungal communities, the leaves appeared to host the highest biodiversity.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Z-J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: X-Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: C-L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D029798:Blueberry Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D002681:China; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D060026:Endophytes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal
keywords: 
  Epicoccum
  ; Ericaceae; Vaccinium dunalianum var. urophyllum; blueberry; endophytic fungi