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Endophytic fungal diversity of endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana in Meghalaya, India

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  • The present investigation deals with the isolation of endophytic fungi from leaf, stem, root and pitcher cup tissue segments of the endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khaisana collected from its natural habitat for a period of one year at monthly intervals. Out of 576 tissue segments inoculated, a total of 39 fungal endophytes along with mycelia sterilia were isolated from the host plant. To assess the diversity of fungal endophytes, the colonization frequency (%CF) was first recorded using past software and MS excel. The fungal isolates were mainly composed of the phylum Ascomycota, followed by Zygomycota and Oomycota. The highest percentage colonization frequency on an average of three replicates were recorded in pitcher cup tissues followed by root, stem and least was recorded in leaf of the host plant. Among the isolates, Globisporangium irregulare (83.33%) showed high % CF in leaf, Juxtiphoma eupyrena (83.33%) reported to have maximum % CF in the stem, Talaromyces ruber (66.66%) was recorded high % CF in root and mycelia sterilia (white) were showed the highest % CF in the segments of leaf. The diversity index analyses of Shannon-Weiner, Simpson*s index, species richness and species evenness of diversity showed that leaf of N. Khasiana has the highest diversity than the other parts of the plant. So, with the help of the present finding, we conclude that the distribution of fungal endophytes and their % colonization frequencies vary within different tissues of the host plant and thus, this confirms tissue specificity nature of endophytic fungi.
  • Wild mushrooms have been consumed since ancient times due to their good taste and nutritional values. Also, mushrooms have the advantage of being rich in vital components such as proteins, vitamins, chitin, fibers, iron, zinc, selenium, sodium, etc. (Breene 1990, Chang & Miles 1992, Elkhateeb et al. 2019, 2020a, b, Daba et al. 2020, El-Hagrassi et al. 2020). Beside these nutritional values, many mushrooms have gained importance due to their therapeutical potentials (Bobek et al. 1995, Bobek & Galbavý 1999, Vaz et al. 2011, Khatun et al. 2012, Elkhateeb & Daba 2020, 2021a, b). The extracts of fruit bodies and mycelium obtained from various fungi have shown a crucial role in the prevention and/or the treatment of many diseases (Wasser & Weis 1999, Sharma et al. 2015). Nowadays, some immunomodulating molecules that have been obtained from different medicinal mushrooms have found great importance in improving the immune function in cancer patients while they are receiving chemo or radiotherapy (Mizuno 1995). Other edible mushrooms have gained medicinal importance due to their effectiveness in adjusting the blood pressure and reducing the free plasma cholesterol, as well as due to antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antitumor properties (Kabir & Kimura 1989, Smânia et al. 1995, Mau et al. 2005, Elkhateeb 2020, Thomas et al. 2020). The genus Ramaria is found all over the world, in which various species of Ramaria have been consumed by people for nutritional purposes. However, more studies are required to be conducted on these genera in order to detect the nutraceutical and nutritional compounds of these mushrooms. The genus Ramaria belonging to Basidiomycota, Class; Agaricomycetes, Order; Gomphales, Family; Gomphaceae, which includes approximately 200 species of coral fungi (Sharma et al. 2015). Several taxa are edible and picked in Europe and also they are easily confused with several mildly poisonous species capable of causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, in which among the most unusually shaped mushrooms of all, Ramaria are appropriately referred to as the coral mushrooms. Ramaria are recognizable by their variably thickly branched fruit bodies, fleshy and tough textures sometimes partly gelatinous or jellylike. Although many Ramaria species are very brightly colored, just as many are dull, and all have a tendency to become rather drab in age. Similar genera include Phaeoclavulina, Lentaria, Artomyces, and Ramariopsis, which differ in various aspects of color, consistency, substrate, microscopic features, or ecology (Sharma & Gautam 2017).

    Ramaria basidiocarps are either lignicolous or terricolous (white, yellow, orange, red, brilliant purple, brown and sometimes green hues) with many species forming a characteristic mycelial mat in the soil beneath the sporocarps (Nouhra et al. 2004). The colour may fade or change after collection in the field. Species of this genus often show a color change on bruising. The flesh may change to green (virescent), red brown (rubribrunnescent), brown to yellow brown (brunnescent), or a red wine color (vinescent) due to age or environmental conditions (Exeter et al. 2006).

    Clavaria is belonging to Basidiomycota, class Agaricomycetes, order Agaricales, and family Clavariaceae. Species of Clavaria produce basidiocarps (fruitbodies) that are cylindrical to club-shaped, branched and coral-like. They are often grouped with similar looking species from other genera, and they are collectively known as the clavarioid fungi (Olariaga et al. 2015).

    The most common species of this genus is Ramaria stricta (Kuo 2009), which grows on wood debris, which features branches that are usually strictly oriented, so that they are mostly straight and ascending. When fresh, its branch tips are yellow and its branches are dull yellowish buff, but its surfaces bruise and discolor purplish brown. Under the microscope it features roughened spores, clamp connections, and thick-walled hyphae. Several very similar species have been separated by mycologists, and the name Ramaria stricta should probably represent a group of potential species awaiting contemporary study. Ecology: Uncertain; while most ramarias are thought to be mycorrhizal, the wood-inhabiting species could be mycorrhizal or saprobic; growing from the dead (but sometimes buried) wood of conifers; appearing alone, scattered, or gregariously; early summer through fall; apparently widely distributed in North America, but more common from the Rocky Mountains westward. Fruitbody: 4−14 cm high; 4−10 cm wide; base well developed or nearly absent; branching repeatedly. Branches: Vertically oriented and elongated; often flattened; smooth; yellowish buff, becoming orangish buff as the spores mature; bruising and discoloring purplish brown; tips yellow when fresh and young. Base: Nearly absent, or fairly well developed; to 2 cm wide; white below; colored like the branches above; attached to numerous white rhizomorphs. Flesh: Whitish; fairly tough. Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive, or sweet and fragrant; taste bitter. Spore color: Rusty yellowish. Microscopic Features: Spores are yellow-brown to rusty-brown in mass deposit 7.5−10.5 × 3.5−5µm; stretched-elliptical; smooth to roughened. Clamp connections present. Thick-walled hyphae present (Kuo 2009) (Figs 1, 2).

    Figure 1.  Fruitbody of Ramaria stricta in the field. The photograph was taken at the Sewickley Heights Borough Park, PA, USA by Fluffberger (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3596638). The photo was used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 non-commercial use license. Scale bar = 10 cm.
    Figure 2.  Fruitbody of Ramaria araiospora in the field. The photograph was taken at the Millersylvania State Park, Olympia, WA, USA by Yay4john (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/62355314). The photo was used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 non-commercial use license. Scale bar = 10 cm.

    Few reports have been found about the discovery of these genera in the Northwestern Himalayas. The current surveys to Northwestern Himalayas have shown the existence of six species of coral mushrooms belonging to the genus Ramaria viz., R. aurea, R. botrytis, R. flava, R. flavescens, R. rubripermanens, and R. stricta (Sharma & Gautam 2017). Details about their culinary status were obtained from native inhabitants. Moreover, studies have been conducted on these species to get detailed biochemical profiling as well as exploring their various biological activities (Sharma & Gautam 2017).

    Coral mushrooms gain great therapeutical and nutritional importance due to their valuable components. Sharma & Gautam (2017), reported that 12 edible species of Ramaria occurring in Northwestern Himalayas contain proximal components, amino acids, and minerals, fatty acids. Ramaria aurea is an edible mushroom that is considered a promising dietary supplement as it consists of carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, fibers, and minerals (Rai et al. 2013). Ramaria botrytis, another edible mushroom, consists of unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherol as well as other bioactive compounds (e.g. ascorbic acid, carotene, flavonoids, β- and lycopene) (Barros et al. 2008). Ramaria subalpina also contains significant amounts of ascorbic acid, β-carotene, flavonoids, and lycopene (Acharya et al. 2017). Also, some Ramaria species show the presence of alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, coumarins, and cardiac glycosides (Aldred 2008, Dattaraj et al. 2020). Due to the existence of these bioactive molecules, these mushrooms possess various medicinal importance against various diseases. Among these medicinal benefits are antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-parasitic, antioxidant, radical scavenger, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, immune system enhancer, and anti-hyperlipidemia (Wasser 2017).

    Although there is a vast diversity of synthetic antibacterial compounds, the development of bacterial resistance has been substantially increasing (Alves et al. 2012). Thus, discovering novel antibiotics especially from natural sources is urgently required. Since ancient times, several natural resources have exerted potent antimicrobial activities. Among these natural resources are mushrooms that might be valuable alternative sources of novel antimicrobials (Gebreyohannes et al. 2019, Ghosh et al. 2020). In this context, various Ramaria sp. have gained great importance due to their potential antimicrobial activities against various pathogens (Table 1). The ethanolic extract of Ramaria flava was detected by the agar-well diffusion method, and the result showed positive activity against some Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I, Micrococcus luteus NRRL B-4375, Micrococcus flavus, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Bacillus cereus RSKK 863. Also, R. flava ethanolic extract showed potent activity against the tested Gram-negative bacteria including Salmonella enteritidis RSKK 171, Yersinia enterecolitica RSKK 1501, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 27736 (Gezer et al. 2006). Additionally, Ramaria cystidiophora showed antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis (MIC = 8 µg/mL), and against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC 64−128 µg/mL) (Hassan et al. 2019).

    Table 1.  Antimicrobial activities of various Ramaria species
    Ramaria species Tested extract Employed methods Tested bacteria Tested fungi References
    Gram-positive Gram-negative
    R. formosa Ethyl acetate, methanol, and water Percentage of inhibition B. subtili, S. aureus E. coli, K. pneumonia, Proteus vulgaris, P. aeruginosa Not tested Pala et al. 2019
    R. formosa Methanol Inhibition zone assay S. aureus P. aeruginosa Candida albicans Ramesh & Pattar 2010
    R. zippellii Ethanol, water 96-well microplate bioassay S. aureus E. coli No activity Bala et al. 2011
    R. aurea Ethanol Inhibition zone assay S. aureus E. coli, P. aeruginosa, P. vulgari Candida albicans Rai et al. 2013
    R. flava Ethanol Inhibition zone assay B. subtili, S. aureus E. coli Fusarium auenaceum, F. graminearum and Cercosporella albomaculans Liu et al. 2013
    R. flava Ethanol Agar-well diffusion method S. aureus, Micrococcus luteus, M. flavus, B. subtilis, B. cereus Salmonella enteritidis, Yersinia enterecolitica and K. pneumoniae No activity Gezer et al. 2006
    R. botrytis Ethanol Methanol Acetone Ethyl acetate Inhibition zone diameter S. aureus P. aeruginosa, E. coli, Enterobacter cloacae No activity Han et al. 2016
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    The studies also reported that the ethanolic extract of Ramaria flava exhibited antifungal activities against three pathogenic fungi which are C. albomaculans, Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium auenaceum. The extract showed the highest efficacy against F. auenaceum, where 36.64% reduction in fungal growth was observed at the concentration of 2 mg/mL. The extract also inhibited the growth of F. graminearum and C. albomaculans by 19.99 and 30.03% respectively, at the same concentration of 2 mg/mL (Liu et al. 2013). Additionally, Ramaria mushrooms show their effectiveness to cure various viral infections. Zhang et al. (2015) isolated a novel ribonuclease from Ramaria formosa fruiting bodies and tested its antiviral activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase enzyme. The results showed that the ribonuclease showed 93% inhibition at a concentration of 30 µM (maximum tested concentration) and with an IC50 value of 3 µM. It was interesting to report that this enzyme exhibits unique features; these include its unique N-terminal sequences, optimum acidic pH value, and temperature resistance. Taken together these features suggest that this ribonuclease could play a vital role in HIV diseases prevention.

    Many reports regarding the antioxidative properties of various Ramaria sp. have been published, which showed the activity of these fungi as effective antioxidants (Table 2). Linoleic acid oxidation was compared with those of α- tocopherol, BHA, and R. flava ethanol extract. The results revealed that the inhibition values of both the standards and R. flava ethanol extract increased gradually with increasing the concentrations. 80 µg/ml BHA, α -tocopherol, and R. flava ethanolic extract exhibited 96.4, 98.6, and 73.3% inhibition, respectively. Whereas increasing the concentrations to 160 µg/ml concentrations resulted in 98.9, 99.2 and 94.7% inhibition, respectively (Gezer et al. 2006). Also, the ethanolic extract of that mushroom exhibited promising OH and DPPH radical-scavenging activities with low IC50 values of 18.08 and 5.86 μg/mL, respectively (Liu et al. 2013). The high inhibition value of R. flava ethanolic extract could be related to the high concentration of phenolic compounds (Komali et al. 1999).

    Table 2.  Antioxidant activities of various Ramaria species isolated from different places
    Ramaria species Place of collection Methods used Activity (EC 50 % of inhibition) References
    R. flava Turkey DPPH scavenging assay 94.78% at 12 mg/mL Gursoy et al. 2010
    β-carotene linoleic acid assay 95.02% at 20 mg/mL
    Reducing power 95.02% at 20 mg/mL
    Metal chelating effect 96.75 at 2 mg/mL
    R. flava Turkey DPPH scavenging assay 276 µg/mL Gezer et al. 2006
    β-carotene linoleic acid assay 94.7% at 160 µg/mL
    R. formosa India DPPH radical scavenging activity 5.8 mg/ml Ramesh & Pattar 2010
    R. patagonica Argentina DPPH scavenging assay 770 µg/mL Toledo et al. 2016
    β-carotene linoleic acid assay 610 µg/mL
    Reducing power 170 µg/mL
    TBARS inhibition activity 60 µg/mL
    R. Formosa Korea DPPH scavenging assay 117 AsA/mg/mL at 500 µg/mL Kim et al. 2016
    Reducing power 36% copper ion inhibition at 20 µg/mL concentration
    Peroxyl radical scavenging activity 7.8 µM trolox equivalent at 20 µg/mL
    R. stricta Ukraine Total antioxidant status 4.223±0.054 mmol/l Krupodorova & Sevindik 2020
    Oxidative stress index 0.194±0.001
    Total oxidant status 8.201 ± 0.095 μmol/l
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    ABTS assay is another assay employed to evaluate the free radical scavenging ability resulted from hydrogen-donating ability (Re et al. 1999). A study reported that R. largentii extract was able to scavenge ABTS radical cation in a concentration-dependent manner. At an extract concentration of 250 mg/mL the scavenging activity was recorded to be 93.53 ± 0.03% (Aprotosoaie et al. 2017). A polyphenol-rich extract of R. aurea exhibited superoxide and DPPH radicals scavenging ability with EC50 of about 0.283 and 0.384 mg/mL, respectively (Khatua et al. 2015). Thus, Ramaria species extract seems to be a reasonably free radical scavenger agent.

    Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Thus, finding new molecules to prevent and/or treat cancer, especially from natural sources with lower toxicity, is considered a goal for scientists nowadays (Wang et al. 2012). As mentioned previously, mushrooms are sources of powerful pharmaceutical products. About 651 higher basidiomycetes species exhibit antitumor activities (Fan et al. 2006). In general, fungal anticancer substances are divided into two main groups which are low and high molecular-weight compounds. The low-molecular-weight secondary compounds comprise mainly sesquiterpenes, steroids and sterols, triterpenes, and polyketides (Mahajna et al. 2008). These molecules can penetrate the cell membrane and work on the targeted signal-transduction pathways (Zaidman et al. 2005). However, the high-molecular-weight compounds include polysaccharides or protein-bound polysaccharides (Kidd 2000). In 1982, a study reported by Yoo et al. (1982), examined the antitumor activity of a high molecular weight protein-bound polysaccharide fraction obtained from Ramaria formosa. These molecules were able to inhibit 66% of a tumor when administered at the dosage of 50 mg/kg/day and the tumor was wholly degenerated in two out of eight mice.

    The growth inhibitory effect of the ethanol extract obtained from Ramaria flava was tested on human cancer cell lines (BGC-803, NCI-H520, and MDA-MB-231) and the results showed a promising inhibition activity on the three human cancer cells with inhibition percentages of 33.83%, 54.63%, and 71.66% respectively, at mushroom extract concentration of 200 µg/mL. A major antitumor sterol found in many edible mushrooms is ergosterol peroxide is (Lindequist et al. 2005). Previous studies reported the antitumor properties of ergosterol peroxide in various cancer cells including SCC4 (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma), U266 (multiple myeloma), DU145 (prostate cancer), as well as MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer) cells (Rhee et al. 2012). Ergosterol peroxide inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells DU-145 and LNCaP (Russo et al. 2010). Moreover, ergosterol peroxide showed a cytotoxic effect against Hep 3B cells (Chen et al. 2009). Six sterols comprising ergosterol peroxide were isolated from R. flava (Liu et al. 2012). And interestingly, their ethanolic extract exerted promising growth inhibitory activity on MDA-MB-231(human breast cancer cell line) which suggests that R. flava could find a great application as an antitumor agent.

    To date, a few numbers of other biological activities have been determined in Ramaria species. In a previous study, the hepatoprotective activity of methanol extract of R. botrytis towards liver toxicity induced by benzo(α)pyrene in mice was evaluated (Kim & Lee 2003). The results reported that the methanolic extract significantly reduced the elevated enzyme activities including glutathione S-transferase and r-glutamylcysteine synthetase that resulted from the induction of benzo(α)pyrene. The hepatoprotective activity of this mushroom could be related to its high antioxidant potential which was revealed by the low EC50 value (0.109 mg/ml) for DPPH radical scavenging assay. Ramaria botrytis collected from hilly areas of Darjeeling exerted potential immunostimulatory effect in a murine macrophage cell line (RAW264.7 cell) as well as in thymocyte cells and splenocytes. This activity was related to a water-soluble glucan obtained from fresh fruiting bodies of such mushrooms and which consisted of (1→6)-linked-β-D glucopyranosyl residues with the branching of (1→3)-linked-β-D-glucopyranosyl at O-3 position. This glucan enhanced the nitric oxide level and also resulted in the stimulation of thymocyte and splenocyte proliferation rates. Thus, this glucan can be employed as a potent immunostimulatory (Bhanja et al. 2013).

    Ramarin A and B are two novel sesquiterpene derivatives that were obtained and purified from the methanol extract of Ramaria formosa that is a very rare mushroom and that inhibits human neutrophil elastase, and thus can be employed for the treatment of skin aging (Kim et al. 2016). A recent study reported by Bhanja et al. (2020), prepared bio metallic composite nanoparticles from polysaccharides isolated from Ramaria botrytis. The nanoparticles exerted antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, these nanoparticles showed potential antioxidant activities towards DPPH radical, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide radicals. They also catalyzed the p-nitrophenol reduction, indicating a new direction in the field of biomedicine mediated by nanotechnology (Bhanja et al. 2020).

    All Clavaria species are terrestrial and most are believed to be saprotrophic (Decaying dead plant material). In North America and elsewhere, they are more commonly found in woodlands. Clavaria fruit bodies are simple (cylindrical to club-shaped) or more rarely branched, sometimes with a distinct stem. Several of the species with simple fruit bodies form them in dense clusters. The fruit bodies themselves are smooth to grooved and typically brittle. Depending on species, they vary in color from white or cream to yellow, pink, violet, brown, or black. The hyphal system of Clavaria species is always monomitic. The context hyphae are inflated, thin-walled, and lack clamp connections (Olariaga et al. 2015). The basidia are two to four spored, in some species with an open, loop-like clamp connection at the base. Spores are smooth or spiny and color is white. Most Clavaria species are thought to be saprotrophic, decomposing leaf litter and other organic materials on the woodland floor. In Europe, species are more frequently found in old, unimproved grasslands, where they are presumed to be decomposers of dead grass and moss. Species of Clavaria occur in suitable habitats throughout the temperate regions and the tropics (Figs 3, 4) (Acharya 2012, Kautmanová et al. 2012).

    Figure 3.  Fruitbody of Clavaria zollingeri in the field. The photograph was taken at Ohio, USA by Rcurtis (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1693040). The photo was used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 non-commercial use license. Scale bar = 10 cm.
    Figure 4.  Fruitbodies of Clavaria rubicundula in the field. The photograph was taken at Hewitt, West Milford, NJ 07421, USA by Tombigelow (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/16044756). The photo was used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 non-commercial use license. Scale bar = 10 cm.

    Ramaria and Clavaria are the two major genera of coral mushrooms within families Gomphaceae and Clavariaceae, respectively. Besides having important role in forest ecology, some species of these are reported to possess high nutraceutical and bioactive potential (Sharma & Gautam 2017). Many current studies describe the detailed biochemical profiling and antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of twelve coral mushroom (Ramaria and Clavaria) species (Vidović et al. 2014). Antioxidant activities were calculated using EC50 values from mushroom extracts. Antibacterial activities were checked on six pathogenic bacterial strains through minimum inhibition concentrations. All the species were found to be rich in protein, macro and micro minerals, carbohydrates, unsaturated fatty acids, essential amino acids, phenolics, tocopherols, anthocynadins and carotenoids. All the species showed significant antioxidant and antibacterial activities. These species are reported to free from heavy toxic metals. Sharma & Gautam (2017), reported that these Ramaria and Clavaria species will open the way for their large-scale commercial exploitations and use in pharmaceutical industries as antioxidant, antibacterial and nutraceutical constituents.

    Many studies conducted on Ramaria and Clavaria species are represented in the current review and showed that coral mushrooms exhibit the potential as a vital therapeutic food. However, more studies for profound exploration are still required. Ramaria and Clavaria species exerted some vital biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, hepatoprotective, and anti-skin aging activity, etc. Further investigation is needed to explain the different mechanisms of action of these wild mushrooms. Although the nutritional values of the genus Ramaria and Clavaria have been also studied, there is a lack of information about their bioavailability, vitamin and mineral, and compositions. Thus, the current review recommends further exploration to get a full profile of the active components obtained from various Ramaria species and Clavaria species in nutrition and mycomedicine fields.

    This research does not receive any external funding.

    The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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  • Cite this article

    F Naseem, H Kayang. 2021. Endophytic fungal diversity of endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana in Meghalaya, India. Studies in Fungi 6(1):138−150 doi: 10.5943/sif/6/1/7
    F Naseem, H Kayang. 2021. Endophytic fungal diversity of endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana in Meghalaya, India. Studies in Fungi 6(1):138−150 doi: 10.5943/sif/6/1/7

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Endophytic fungal diversity of endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana in Meghalaya, India

Studies in Fungi  6 Article number: 7  (2021)  |  Cite this article

Abstract: The present investigation deals with the isolation of endophytic fungi from leaf, stem, root and pitcher cup tissue segments of the endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khaisana collected from its natural habitat for a period of one year at monthly intervals. Out of 576 tissue segments inoculated, a total of 39 fungal endophytes along with mycelia sterilia were isolated from the host plant. To assess the diversity of fungal endophytes, the colonization frequency (%CF) was first recorded using past software and MS excel. The fungal isolates were mainly composed of the phylum Ascomycota, followed by Zygomycota and Oomycota. The highest percentage colonization frequency on an average of three replicates were recorded in pitcher cup tissues followed by root, stem and least was recorded in leaf of the host plant. Among the isolates, Globisporangium irregulare (83.33%) showed high % CF in leaf, Juxtiphoma eupyrena (83.33%) reported to have maximum % CF in the stem, Talaromyces ruber (66.66%) was recorded high % CF in root and mycelia sterilia (white) were showed the highest % CF in the segments of leaf. The diversity index analyses of Shannon-Weiner, Simpson*s index, species richness and species evenness of diversity showed that leaf of N. Khasiana has the highest diversity than the other parts of the plant. So, with the help of the present finding, we conclude that the distribution of fungal endophytes and their % colonization frequencies vary within different tissues of the host plant and thus, this confirms tissue specificity nature of endophytic fungi.

  • Many ancient literature indicate that synergistic collaboration among fungi and plants have taken place more than 400 million years ago (Krings et al. 2007). Morphologically fungi exist as both microscopic and macroscopic classes. As a result of its existence at the microscopic level, only a few numbers of fungi are recognized and depicted till now. The appellation "Endophytes" has been used in an extensive perception as per its description to comprise bacteria (Kobayashi & Palumbo 2000), fungi (Petrini 1991, Stone et al. 2000), actinomycetes (Bills et al. 2004, Stone et al. 2000, Tan et al. 2006), algae (Peters 1991) and some insects (Feller 1995) residing within the plant tissues deprived of any ostensible symptoms of the disease. Nearly all type of vascular plants are well-known to harbor endophytic microorganisms (Arnold et al. 2000, Sturz 2000). The ecological condition of the host also influences the endophytic scattering in a population (Hata et al. 1998). Endophytic fungi can enter the plant through its root and colonize different plant parts including flowers and fruits as well, but through stomata or wounds in the plant many phyllosphere endophytes can also entre as those wounds or stomata acts as passage to such microorganisms (McCully 2001, Danhorn & Fuqua 2007, Schulz & Boyle 2006).

    Nepenthes is the tropical carnivorous plant, has been known to have evolutionarily modified leaves as the peripheral digestive organs via leaf epiascidiation process (folding of the leaf towards the interior side with the ventral or upper surface flattering the inside of the pitcher) in order to receive nutrients from prey trapped inside the pitcher cups. For the digestion of the prey, Nepenthes reduces the pH of its fluid to facilitate the enzymatic reactions and to regulate the bacterial population present in the micro-habitat (Chan et al. 2016).

    The present study aimed to isolate endophytic fungi from leaves, stems, roots and pitcher cups of an endemic plant of Meghalaya, N. khasiana. It is a carnivorous IUCN listed - endangered plant. N. khasiana is the only representative of the family Nepenthaceae from India and is considered to harbor vast range of medicinal properties used in traditional medicine by local people. Thus, the aspect of assessing the diversity of endophytic fungi will help to understand the association of fungal endophytes with the host plant.

  • For the isolation of endophytic fungi, N. khasiana was selected as the host plant. The plants were randomly collected for a period of 1 year (2015-2016) at monthly intervals from the West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. The plants were collected aseptically in sterilized polythene bags which were taken to the laboratory and processed within 24 hours of collection.

  • The samples were surface sterilized following the slightly modified protocol of Bayman et al. 1997. The plant parts were vigorously washed under running tap water to remove dust and soil particles. The protocol given by Suryanarayanan et al. 1998 (modified) was used for the isolation of endophytic fungi from the sterilized plant samples. Different plant parts (leaves, stems, roots and pitcher cups) of N. khasiana were chopped into small fragments of 0.5 cm diameters. These segments were then surface sterilized by immersing them in 70% ethanol for 1-3 minute, followed by treatment in 2% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for 3 minutes, then again immersing them in 70% ethanol for 30 seconds and then lastly rinsed with sterile distilled water to remove any traces of surface sterilants. The excess moisture adhering to the treated segments were eliminated by blotting with sterilized Whatman No.1 filter paper.

  • The effectiveness of surface sterilization was performed by washing the surface sterilized samples with sterile water few times followed by transferring the samples in 5 ml of sterile water. The sterilized sample-water mixtures thus obtained were then stirred for 1 min. An aliquot of 0.5 ml water obtained above (after removing the plant parts) was then inoculated on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 27℃ for 7 days. Plates which show negative result considered as successfully surface disinfected and the procedure thus used for the isolation of endophytic fungi (Schulz et al. 1993).

  • For the isolation of endophytic fungi, samples were dried under laminar airflow to avoid contamination. Prepared samples were inoculated on to a Petri dish containing PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) medium amended with Streptomycin (200mg/l) to suppress any bacterial growth. The Petri dishes were sealed using ParafilmTM and incubated at 25 ± 2℃ in an incubator for 7 to 15 days. Further to the development of colonies on culture plates were studied by isolating them and again sub-cultured as pure culture on PDA and Czapeck Dox Agar (CDA) media. For characterization of the morphology of fungal isolates, slides were prepared and stained with lacto-phenol blue reagent and examined under a bright field microscope. Identification was done by referring standard monographs (Ellis 1976, Domsch et al. 1980, Barnett & Hunter 1972, Subramanian 1971) and with the help of their morphological characteristics such as growth pattern, hyphal characters, colour of colonies on the medium, surface texture, margin character, aerial mycelium, mechanism of spore production and characteristics of the spores. The isolated fungal endophytes have been deposited to the Microbial Repository Centre (MRC), IBSD, Manipur, India. Culture samples that did not produce any spores were categorized separately and given a code based on colour of mycelium and morphological feature of colony. Molecular characterization (ITS sequence of rDNA) was done to confirm the identification of such sterile fungal strains and the nucleotide sequences obtained in this study were deposited to the NCBI- GenBank database with following accession numbers - MH458928.1, MH458932.1, MH510306.1, MH458934.1 and MH458933.1.Confirmation of the presence of endophytic fungal spores and elongation of new hyphae in different tissue parts of the host plant was performed with the help of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) (Fig. 2).

  • With the intention to estimate the diversity of endophytic fungi, the colonization frequency (%CF) of endophytic fungi was calculated and determined by using the formula given by Hata & Futai (1995). Dominant endophytes were calculated as percentage of colony frequency of an endophyte divided by the sum of the percentage of colony frequency of all endophytes x100 (Tayung & Jha 2006).

    CF(%)=(NCol/Nt)×100

    Where, NCol = Number of segments of plant tissue colonized by each fungus and Nt = Total number of segments of plant tissue studied.

    The fungal diversity of endophytic population was estimated with the following diversity indices. The reason for using these diversity indices was to take advantage of the strength of each index and to predict the complete structure of the population. All the statistical analyses were achieved with the software package PAST3 and MS Excel (Hammer et al. 2001) following diversity indices were calculated: (a) Simpson's Index. (b) Simpson's index of diversity. (c) Specie richness. (d) Shannon-Weaver diversity index. (e) Evenness was calculated.

    (a) Simpson's index (D) was calculated by following formula (Simpson 1951): D =∑ (n/N) 2 Where, n = Total number of isolates of a particular species and N = Total number of isolates of all species.

    (b) Simpson's index of diversity = 1-D (D is Simpson's index)

    Species richness is a measure of the number of species found in a sample. This particular measure of species richness is known the Menhinick's index: (c) Species richness = S/√N Where, S = Total number of species.

    Index of general diversity (H') or Shannon & Weaver (1949) diversity (Shannon & Weaver 1949): (d) Shannon Index (H') = -∑ pi ln pi

    Where, pi = n/N, n is the total number of isolates of a particular species, N = Total number of isolates of all species and ln = Natural Log.

    Pielou's evenness J' (Pielou 1995), which is expressed by the Shannon information scaled by the maximum information, to measure species evenness for each community: (e) J' = H'/ ln (S) Where, H'= Observed value of Shannon index and S = Total number of species observed.

  • During the study period, a total of 576 plant segments (leaves, stems, roots and pitcher cups) VCwere plated for the isolation of endophytic fungi. 4 segments per plates were inoculated on PDA medium plates with three replicate each (Fig. 1) and to maintain pure culture, Czapeck dox agar (CDA) medium plates have been used. Highest numbers of fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaf of N. khasiana followed by pitcher cup, stem and root for the study period. SEM images also confirm the presence of fungal endophytes within the different plant tissues of the host plant N. khasiana (Fig. 2). The fungal isolates were mainly composed of Ascomycota (25 genera; 35 species), followed by Zygomycota (3 genera; 6 species) and Oomycota (3 genera; 5 species).

    Figure 1.  Plates showing mix cultures of fungal endophytes isolated from different plant parts of N. khasiana.

    Figure 2.  SEM micrograph showing the presence of endophytic fungal spore in (a) leaf and (b) stem; the elongation of new hyphae from mycelia of fungal endophytes in (c) root and (d) pitcher cup.

    A total of 39 endophytic fungi were isolated and identifies from the different plant parts of N. khasiana during the one year of study period. Table 1 depicts the list of endophytic fungi isolated from N. khasiana. Among these isolates, it was observed that the phylum Ascomycota dominated the endophytic assemblage within the host plant. In our study we detected that 61.53% of isolates belonged to Ascomycota followed by Oomycota, Zygomycota and mycelia sterilia with 12.82 % each. The fungal assemblage was found to be dominated by the class Sordariomycetes (25.64%) followed by Eurotiomycetes (20.51%), Dothideomycetes (10.25%), and Incetraesedis and Mycelia sterilia (12.82% respectively), Mucoromycetes (7.69%), Mortierellomycetes (5.12%), Pezizomycetes and Leotiomycetes (2.56% each). Endophytic fungi with maximum average percentage of colonization frequency (%CF) were considered to be dominant. During the sampling period, Juxtiphoma eupyrena and Talaromyces ruber exhibited highest dominance in the leaf with 15% each followed by Globisporangium irregulare with 8.33%. The endophytic assemblage in the stem was dominated by Mycelia sterilia white (16.39%), J. eupyrena (13.66%) and T. ruber with 12.29%. The dominant root endophytes were MS brown (22.78%) and T. ruber (10%). Whereas, in pitcher cup it was dominant by MS white (17.5%) followed by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Gliomastix cerealis with 10% each.

    Table 1.  List of fungal endophytes isolated from different plant parts (leaf, stem, root and pitcher cup) of N. khasiana during the study period of 2015-2016.

    Sl. Endophytic fungal isolates L S R PC
    No.
    Phylum: Ascomycota- 17 Genera, 24 Species
    Class- Sordariomycetes
    Order- Hypocereales
    1 Acremonium murorum (Corda) W. Gams 1971 + - - +
    2 Cosmospora butyri (J.F.H. Beyma) Gräfenhan, Seifert & Schroers 2011 + - - -
    3 Fusarium proliferatum (Matsush.) Nirenberg ex Gerlach & Nirenberg 1982 + - - -
    4 F. redolens Wollenw. 1913 + + - -
    5 Gliomastix cerealis (P. Karst.) C.H. Dickinson 1968 + + + +
    6 Rectifusarium ventricosum (Appel & Wollenw.) L. Lombard & Crous 2015 - + + -
    Order- Sordariales
    1 Humicola fuscoatra Traaen 1914 - + + -
    2 Trichocladium griseum (Traaen) X. Wei Wang & Houbraken 2018 - + + +
    Order- Incertaesedis
    1 Arthrinium arundinis (Corda) Dyko & B. Sutton 1979 + - - +
    Order- Glomerellales
    1 Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. 1884 + - - +
    Class- Dothiodeomycetes
    Order- Pleosporales
    1 Alternaria alternate (Fr.) Keissl. 1912 - + + -
    2 Juxtiphoma eupyrena (Sacc.) Valenz.-Lopez, Crous, Stchigel, Guarro & + + + +
    Cano 2017
    Order- Capnodiales
    1 Cladosporium cladosporioides (Fresen.) G.A. de Vries 1952 + + + +
    Order- Tubeufiales
    1 Tubeufia cerea (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Hohn. 1919 + - + -
    Class- Eurotiomycetes
    Order- Eurotiales
    1 Penicillium brevicompactum Dierckx 1901 + + + +
    2 P. glabrum (Wehmer) Westling 1911 + - + +
    3 P. simplicissimum (Oudem.) Thom 1930 + + + -
    4 P. jensenii K.W. Zaleski 1927 - - - +
    5 Talaromyces islandicus (Sopp) Samson, N. Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert 2011 - - - +
    6 T. purpureogenus Samson, N. Yilmaz, Houbraken, Spierenb., Seifert, + + + +
    Peterson, Varga & Frisvad 2011
    7 T. ruber (Stoll) N. Yilmaz, Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson 2012 + + + +
    8 T. rugulosus (Thom) Samson, N. Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert 2011 + + + +
    Class- Pezizomycetes
    Order- Pezizales
    1 Phymatotrichopsis omnivore (Duggar) Hennebert 1973 - + - -
    Class- Leotiomycetes
    Order- Incertaesides
    1 Scytalidium lignicola Pesante 1957 - - + -
    Phylum: Oomycota- 3 Genera, 5 Species
    Class- Incertaesides
    Order- Peronosporales
    1 Globisporangium intermedium (de Bary) Uzuhashi, Tojo & Kakish. 2010 - - + -
    2 G. irregular (Buisman) Uzuhashi, Tojo & Kakish. 2010 + + + +
    3 Phytophthora cactorum (Lebert & Cohn) J. Schrot. 1889 - - - +
    4 P. cinnamomi Rands 1922 + + - +
    5 Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzp. 1923 - - + -
    Phylum: Zygomycota- 3 Genera, 5 Species
    Class- Mortierellomycetes
    Order- Mortierellales
    1 Mortierella sp. 1 + - - -
    2 Mortierella sp. 2 - - - +
    Class- Mucoromycetes
    Class- Mucorales
    1 Gongronella butleri (Lendn.) Peyronel & Dal Vesco 1955 + - - -
    2 Rhizopus microspores Tiegh. 1875 - - + -
    3 Rhizopus sp. - + - -
    Mycelia sterilia (MS)- 5 isolates
    1 MS (Black) - + - -
    2 MS(Brown) - + + +
    3 MS (Red) - + - -
    4 MS (White) + + + +
    5 MS (Yellow) + - + -
    Total- 23 Genera, 34 Species and 5 Mycelia sterilia
    L = leaf, S = stem, R = root, PC = pitcher cup, '+' = present and '-' = absent

    We found that Alternaria alternata, Fusarium proliferatum, Gongronella butleri and Mortierella sp.1 were isolated only from the leafs, Periconia macrospinosa, Phymatotrichopsis omnivore, Mycelia sterilia (black) and Mycelia sterilia (Red) were specific only to the stem, in root Globisporangium intermedium, Pythium aphanidermatum, Rhizopus microspores, Rhizopus sp. and Scytalidium lignicola were restricted to the root tissues and Cosmospora butyri, Mortierella gamsii, Mortierella sp. 2, Penicillium jensenii and Phytophthora cactorum were isolated only from the pitcher cups. However, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Gliomastix cerealis, Juxtiphoma eupyrena, Penicillium brevicompactum, Talaromyces purpureogenus, T. ruber, T. rugulosus, MS (brown) and Mycelia sterilia (white) were found to be present in all the plant parts of the sampling plant.

    In which, Globisporangium irregulare (83.33%), Penicillium glabrum (66.66%) and MS white (58.33%) showed highest percentage of colonization frequency in leaf (Fig. 3). It was found that endophyte J. eupyrena (83.33%) and Fusarium redolens (33.33%) showed maximum %CF in stem (Fig. 4), Talaromyces ruber (66.66%), T. purpureogenus and MS (white) with %CF 58.33% was maximum in root (Fig. 5). However, C. gloeosporioides and G. cerealis showed %CF 66.66 in pitcher cup (Fig. 6), where the highest %CF was recorded by MS (white) with 116.66%.

    Figure 3.  Percentage colonization frequency of endophytic fungi isolated from the leafs of N. khasiana during the study period of 2015-2016

    Figure 4.  Percentage colonization frequency of endophytic fungi isolated from the stem of N. khasiana during the study period of 2015-2016

    Figure 5.  Percentage colonization frequency of endophytic fungi isolated from the root of N. khasiana during the study period of 2015-2016

    Figure 6.  Percentage colonization frequency of endophytic fungi isolated from the pitcher cup (PC) of N. khasiana during the study period of 2015-2016.

    Shannon index (H') was found to be highest in the leaf with the value of 2.78 followed by pitcher cup with 2.76 whereas it was recorded to be the least in root with value of 2.68, which indicates the vise-versa result for Simpson's diversity index (1-D). Simpson's index of dominance (D) was found to be highest in root with value of 0.09 and d index was least in leaf (0.07). Species richness (S/√N) was recorded to be highest in leaf with the value of 2.34 and minimum in leaf with value of 1.64. As like other indices, Species evenness (E) was also recorded and it was found to be highest in leaf with value of 0.96 whereas, it was recorded to be least in root with value of 0.89 (Table 2).

    Table 2.  Diversity indices of fungal endophytes isolated from N. khasiana during the study period of 2015-2016.

    Plant tissue Shannon index (H') Simpson's index of Dominance (D) Simpson, s diversity index (1-D) Species richness (S/√N) Species evenness (E)
    Leaf 2.78 0.07 0.92 1.64 0.96
    Stem 2.68 0.08 0.91 2.07 0.92
    Root 2.68 0.09 0.90 2.26 0.89
    Pitcher cup 2.76 0.07 0.90 2.34 0.90
  • In the present investigation, the endophytic fungi isolated from N. khasiana were mainly composed of Ascomycota (25 genera; 35 species), followed by Zygomycota (3 genera; 6 species) and Oomycota (3 genera; 5 species). However, high percentage of ascomycota as endophytic fungi were also reported by the work of Goveas et al. (2011) from Coscinium fenestratum- a red list endangered medicinal plant, it could be due to the ability of Ascomycota to produces ascospores which helps them to strive against other microorganisms through the harsh environmental circumstances. A total of 5 mycelia sterilia were also isolated. The group of mycelia sterilia consists of several morphological fungal varieties, but then again not forming spores under laboratory conditions. This group of fungi is significantly predominant in endophytic studies (Lacap et al. 2003). Other studies on endophytic fungi are also reported the presence of sterile forms in their survey (Suryanarayanan et al. 1998, Rajagopal 1999, Maheswari 2011). Several phylloplane fungi such as Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Cladosporium, Epicoccum belonged to Hyphomycetes were isolated as endophytes from a wide range of plant species growing in different habitats (Bills 1996, Peláez et al. 1996). These phylloplane fungi are proficient of penetrating the outer layers of the leaf or may be confined in the substomatal cavities (Cabral et al. 1993). In our study we also have witnessed similar finding where some of the phylloplane fungi viz. Alternaria, Cladosporium etc. were isolated as fungal endophytes.

    In the case of the present investigated plant the endophytic fungi isolated were Gliomastic cerealis, Juxtiphoma eupyrena, Talaromyces purpureogenus, MS (Brown) and MS (white) showed highest colonization ferequency (%CF) as compared to other isolated of the plant. And among all, J. eupyrena was observed as commonly occurring endophytes in all the plant parts of N. khasiana. Similar occurrence of J. eupyrena was observed in the tissues of Artemisia thuscula by Cosoveanu et al. (2018). It was observed that in selected plant for present investigation, the Shannon diversity index (H') was higher in the aerial part of the plant i.e. in leaf followed by the underground part (root) and least was observed in stem of the plant, this is the opposite of the previous finding by Jin et al. (2013). However, Simpson's index of dominance (D) showed the vise-versa result. Species richness was also reported to be higher in leaf and lower in roots during the two year of the study period. A smilar finding was reported by various researchers viz. Kumar & Hyde (2004), Raviraja (2005), Huang et al. (2008), Sun et al. (2008), Xing et al. (2010), Chaeprasert et al. (2010), Thalavaipandian et al. (2011), Siqueira et al. (2011) and Suwannarach et al. (2011). This could be due to the fact that N. khasiana is a carnivorous plant that grows in the soil where the nutritional value and pH of the soil is low and therefore, they adjust their requirements through the captured and digested prey. Moreover, the surface area of leaf is supplementary as compared to the roots of pitcher plants. The time of leaf exposure may also have accounted for the better density of endophytic fungi (Frohlich et al. 2000, Toofanee & Dulymamode 2002, Arnold & Herre 2003). Huang et al. (2008) also pointed out the tissue specific trait of endophytic fungi although most of the endophytes only exhibited tissue preference this partially supports our finding where a higher number of endophytes has been isolated from a specific tissue as compared to other tissues of the host plant.

  • From the present investigation, it can be concluded that the carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana, which is one of the endemic plants of the north-eastern state of Meghalaya, India, harbor a great diversity of endophytic fungi. The colonization frequency of the isolates from different tissues of the host plant significantly differed between leaf, stem, root and pitcher cup. Hence, this entire study can be considered as an earnest attempt in exploring the diversity of fungal endophyte and their association with the pitcher plant, and therefore, the further study to explore the facts that how these fungal endophytes are helping the plant in the digestion of prey, synthesis of several secondary metabolites, endurance towards the harsh environment, etc. is much needed. Additionally, isolated endophytic fungal strains may also be evaluated for their antagonistic activity against plant pathogen of the host plant.

  • The authors appreciatively acknowledge the Head of the Department, Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, North- Eastern Hill University, Shillong for providing necessary laboratory facilities and DBT- infrastructure and CAS for providing necessary instrument facilities. The corresponding author is thankful to University Grants Commission for providing financial assistance in the form of Maulana Azad National Fellowship. Authors would like to appreciate the Head and technical staff of Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati for their help in taking SEM images.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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    F Naseem, H Kayang. 2021. Endophytic fungal diversity of endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana in Meghalaya, India. Studies in Fungi 6(1):138−150 doi: 10.5943/sif/6/1/7
    F Naseem, H Kayang. 2021. Endophytic fungal diversity of endemic carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana in Meghalaya, India. Studies in Fungi 6(1):138−150 doi: 10.5943/sif/6/1/7
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