Grasses represent one of the Earth's most common plant groups, and natural and cultivated habitats dominated by grasses cover about 40% of the land surface. In turn, each grass species hosts multiple ...fungal species which can behave as endophytes. An analysis of the endophytic taxa identified in surveys conducted in 14 grass species showed that some of the most frequent taxa on each grass were also present across several host grasses. These taxa were Alternaria, Epicoccum, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and a few others. A similar analysis of airborne fungi surveyed at 41 different locations throughout the world showed that some of the most geographically widespread, and most locally frequent airborne fungi belonged to the same genera that are dominant endophytes in grasses (i.e. Cladosporium, Alternaria, Fusarium, etc.). Therefore, airborne spores of genera that are ubiquitous in grasses are common worldwide and attain high atmospheric concentrations. In addition, spores of the above mentioned fungi are also important respiratory allergens. Direct observation indicates that saprobic colonization and sporulation of non-systemic grass endophytes could become unrestrained when their host plant tissue dies. Subsequently, when appropriate environmental conditions favour sporulation on grass host surfaces, the natural cycle for airborne conidia initiates, and large numbers of these conidia disperse as inoculum for new endophytic infections. Therefore, the cycle of endophytism may be an important link between climate, plant biology and public health.
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Four compounds including beauvericin, parahydroxybenzaldehyde, indole-3-carboxylic acid and quinizarin were isolated from endophytic fungus Epicoccum nigrum and their cytotoxicity, ...antibacterial and antioxidant activity were evaluated. Beauvericin had remarkable activity against two Gram-negative strains (Bacillus cereus and Salmonella typhimurium) with respective MIC values of 3.12 and 6.25μg/ml. All the compounds had weak cytotoxic effect on both normal and tumor cells. LC50 values ranged from 40.42 to 86.56μg/ml, 31.87 to 86.57μg/ml and 21.59 to 67.27μg/ml on Vero cells, THP-1 and RAW 264.7 respectively. The present study showed that these compounds could be developed for the formulation of antioxidant-rich therapeutic diets and as a therapeutic agent against bacterial infections.
The purpose of our study was to determine whether the application of quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) and pyrazole-carboxamide fungicides as a tank mix would impact the endophyte community of soybean ...seed. Field trials during 2018 in Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, U.S.A., investigated the impact of a single combination fungicide spray at early pod set in soybeans. The composition of culturable endophytic fungi in mature soybean seed was assessed on three cultivars per state, with maturity groups (MGs) ranging from 1.1 to 4.7. An unusually wet 2018 season delayed harvest, which led to a high level of fungal growth in grain. The survey included 1,080 asymptomatic seeds that were disinfested and individually placed on 5-cm-diameter Petri plates of acidified water agar. The survey yielded 721 fungal isolates belonging to 24 putative species in seven genera; taxa were grouped into genera based on a combination of morphological and molecular evidence. The dominant genera encountered in the survey were
,
, and
. The study showed that the fungicide treatment reduced the incidence of
in Wisconsin seed, increased the incidence of
in seed from all states, and had no impact on the incidence of
. This is one of the first attempts to characterize the diversity of seed endophytes in soybean and the first to characterize the impacts of fungicide spraying on these endophyte communities across three states. Our study provides evidence that the impact of a fungicide spray on soybean seed endophyte communities may be influenced by site, weather, and cultivar maturity group.
Epicoccum latusicollum
is a fungus that causes a severe foliar disease on flue-cured tobacco in southwest China, resulting in significant losses in tobacco yield and quality. To better understand the ...organism, researchers investigated its optimal growth conditions and metabolic versatility using a combination of traditional methods and the Biolog Phenotype MicroArray technique. The study found that
E. latusicollum
exhibited impressive metabolic versatility, being able to metabolize a majority of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus sources tested, as well as adapt to different environmental conditions, including broad pH ranges and various osmolytes. The optimal medium for mycelial growth was alkyl ester agar medium, while oatmeal agar medium was optimal for sporulation, and the optimum temperature for mycelial growth was 25°C. The lethal temperature was 40°C. The study also identified arbutin and amygdalin as optimal carbon sources and Ala-Asp and Ala-Glu as optimal nitrogen sources for
E. latusicollum
. Furthermore, the genome of
E. latusicollum
strain T41 was sequenced using Illumina HiSeq and Pacific Biosciences technologies, with 10,821 genes predicted using Nonredundant, Gene Ontology, Clusters of Orthologous Groups, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and SWISS-PROT databases. Analysis of the metabolic functions of phyllosphere microorganisms on diseased tobacco leaves affected by
E. latusicollum
using the Biolog Eco microplate revealed an inability to efficiently metabolize a total of 29 carbon sources, with only tween 40 showing some metabolizing ability. The study provides new insights into the structure and function of phyllosphere microbiota and highlights important challenges for future research, as well as a theoretical basis for the integrated control and breeding for disease resistance of tobacco
Epicoccus
leaf spot. This information can be useful in developing new strategies for disease control and management, as well as enhancing crop productivity and quality.
Abstract
The study was conducted in the Department of Plant Protection - College of Agriculture - University of Anbar for the year 2022, as the results of collecting samples from the regions of Anbar ...and Waist governorates showed the spread of okra root rot disease in most of the study areas, and the results of phenotypic and molecular diagnosis showed the presence of the fungal species
Pythium Aphanidermatum, Fusarium proliferatum, Epicoccum nigrum, Itersonilia perplexans, Fusarium chlamydosporum, Rhizoctonia solani
, which were deposited in the International Genbank OQ572440, OQ540926, OQ566939, OQ540927, OQ540928, OQ540929 (NCBI) seeds, respectively. Okra, as the tested isolates achieved a significant decrease in the germination of okra seeds on the culture medium (W.A. Water agar) compared with the control treatment that was not contaminated with any of the tested isolates, in which the infection rate was 0.0%.
A fungal isolate US-18-11 was isolated from the soil in Uiseong, Korea. The mycelium growth measured after 7 days of incubation at 22℃ on malt extract agar (MEA) and oatmeal agar (OA) media was 42-43 ...mm and 41-44 mm in diameter, respectively. The fungal colony formed white to dull green aerial mycelia that were floccose with regular margins and olivaceous black with leaden gray patches on the reverse side. The conidia were hyaline to brown in color, ellipsoidal to ovoid, guttulate, abundant, globose, solitary, or confluent measuring 3.2-7.2×1.1-2.3 μm. A BLAST search of the large subunit (LSU), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, second largest subunit of DNA-directed RNA polymerase II (RPB2) and β-tubulin (TUB2) gene sequences revealed that the isolate US-18-11 has similarities of 99, 100, 97, and 99% with those of Epicoccum draconis CBS 186.83, respectively. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree constructed based on the concatenated dataset of above-mentioned sequences showed that isolate US-18-11 clustered with Epicoccum draconis CBS 186.83 in the same clade. Based on the results of morphological, cultural, and phylogenetic analysis, the isolate US-18-11 was identical to the previously described E. draconis CBS 186.83. To our knowledge, this is the first report of E. draconis in Korea.
In the search for new compounds to protect plants from fungi, an endophytic fungus, Epicoccum sp. CAFTBO, obtained from Theobroma cacao was found to produce three polyoxygenated polyketides, namely ...epicolactone (1) and epicoccolides A (2) and B (3), together with seven known metabolites. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by a combination of detailed spectroscopic and spectrometric analyses as well as DFT calculations of the electronic circular dichroism spectra and the single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis of 1. Compounds 1–3 showed potent antimicrobial activities and significant inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth of two peronosporomycete phytopathogens, Pythium ultimum and Aphanomyces cochlioides, and the basidiomycetous fungus Rhizoctonia solani.
Three polyoxygenated polyketides 1–3, together with seven known metabolites, have been isolated from Epicoccum sp. CAFTBO, an endophytic fungus found in Theobroma cacao. Compounds 1–3 showed potent antimicrobial activities and significant inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth of two peronosporomycete phytopathogens and the basidiomycetous fungus Rhizoctonia solani.
Fungal endophytes are well-known for their ability to promote plant growth and hinder fungal diseases, including Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by
. This study aimed to characterize the biocontrol ...efficacy of strain J4-3 isolated from the stem of symptomless wheat collected from Heilongjiang Province, China. It was identified as
using morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and beta-tubulin (
). In a dual culture assay, strain J4-3 significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of
strain PH-1 and other fungal pathogens. In addition, wheat coleoptile tests showed that lesion symptoms caused by
were significantly reduced in wheat seedlings treated with hyphal fragment suspensions of strain J4-3 compared to the controls. Under field conditions, applying spore suspensions and culture filtrates of strain J4-3 with conidial suspensions of
on wheat spikes resulted in the significant biocontrol efficacy of FHB. In addition, wheat seedlings previously treated with spore suspensions of strain J4-3 before sowing successfully resulted in FHB reduction after the application of conidial suspensions of
at anthesis. More importantly, wheat seedlings treated with hyphal fragments and spore suspensions of strain J4-3 showed significant increases in wheat growth compared to the controls under greenhouse and field conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that
J4-3 could be a promising biocontrol agent (BCA) against
, causing FHB and a growth-promoting fungus in wheat.
A new pyronepolyene C-glucoside, named iso-D8646-2-6 (1) together with the known related compound D8646-2-6 (2), was isolated from the sponge-associated fungus Epicoccum sp. JJY40. They showed NF-κB ...inhibitory and anti-influenza A viral (H1N1) activities.
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