MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ENDOPHYTIC FUNGUS ISOLATED FROM TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum L.) AND ITS ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY

ABSTRACT

Endophytes are symbiotic microorganisms that live within plants and have been a subject of many studies over the decades for their functions in relation to plant responses to environmental stress. Most of these endophytes play a huge role in the overall wellbeing of a plant as it produces a wide array of anti-fungal secondary metabolites and serve as a potential option for antifungal, anti-insect, anticancer and many more properties. This study was aimed at characterizing an endophytic fungus from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and determining its antifungal activity. Healthy and diseased tomato plants were obtained from the screen house of the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin. Suspected endophytic and pathogenic fungi were isolated from the tomato stems, respectively. The fungi isolates were identified using phenotypic characterization. The antifungal activity of the suspected endophytic fungi were evaluated against a pathogenic fungus using the antagonistic co-culture method. Molecular analysis was performed to confirm the identity of the endophytic fungus. Cell filtrate was extracted from the fungal endophyte and tested against the pathogenic fungus. The results showed that species of Fusarium, Rhizopus, and Botrytis were obtained as the suspected endophytic fungus, while Aspergillus species was the pathogenic fungus. Among the suspected endophytic fungi screened, Rhizopus species had an antifungal activity. The molecular analysis revealed the endophytic and pathogenic fungi as Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger, respectively. The cell filtrate of the endophytic fungus also had antifungal activity. The findings of this study suggest that secondary metabolites that can be used to produce antifungal agent can be extracted from Rhizopus.