Twenty-five endophytic fungi comprising three ascomycetes, 20 mitosporic fungi and two sterile fungi were recovered from two halophytes (Acanthus ilicifolius and Acrostichum aureum) of a west coast mangrove habitat in India. Overall colonisation of tissue segments by endophytes ranged between 74.5 % (Acanthus ilicifolius) and 77.5 % (Acrostichum aureum). Analysis using the Jaccard’s similarity coefficient revealed 16-25 % similarity in endophyte assemblage among different tissues, and 24.5 % between the two hosts. Out of four tissues screened, species richness and diversity were high in stems of Acanthus ilicifolius and roots of Acrostichum aureum. The most dominant endophyte was Colletotrichum sp. in prop roots of Acanthus ilicifolius, and Yeast sp. 1 in rhizomes of Acrostichum aureum. Among the dominant endophytes (colonisation frequency >5 %), Acremonium and Yeast sp. 1 were common to both hosts. Acanthus ilicifolius showed dominance of a single species, (Colletotrichum sp.), while in Acrostichum aureum multiple species dominance was seen (Acremonium sp., Pénicillium sp. and Yeast sp. 1). Only one typical marine mitosporic fungus (Cumulospora marina) was recovered from the roots of Acanthus ilicifolius.
Maria G. L., Sridhar K. R. (2003): Endophytic fungal assemblage of two halophytes from west coast mangrove habitats, India. – Czech Mycology 55(3-4): 241–251.
