• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.253-259
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• 2010

In vitro and in vivo mycofumigation effects of the volatileproducing fungus Nodulisporium sp. CF016 isolated from stem of Cinnamomum loureirii and the role of its volatile compounds were investigated against phytopathogenic fungi. The volatile compounds produced by Nodulisporium sp. CF016 inhibited and killed a wide range of plant and storage pathogens including to Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytophthora capsici, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Colletotrichum coccodes, Magnaporthe oryzae, Alternaria panax, Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum. Mycofumigation with wheat bran-rice hull cultures of Nodulisporium sp. CF016 showed in vivo antifungal activity against gray mold caused by B. cinerea and blue mold caused by P. expansum of apple. The most abundant volatile compound produced by Nodulisporium sp. CF016 was $\beta$-elemene followed by 1-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene, $\beta$-selinene and $\alpha$-selinene. Nodulisporium sp. CF016 could be an attractive mycofumigant in controlling postharvest diseases of various fruits including apple.

• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.506-511
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• 2019

We investigated the antifungal activities of an endophytic fungus identified as Acaromyces ingoldii, found on a loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) pine bolt in Louisiana during routine laboratory microbial isolations. The specific objectives were to determine the inhibitory properties of A. ingoldii secondary metabolites (crude extract) on the mycelial growth of a brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum and a white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor, and to determine the effective concentration of A. ingoldii crude preparation against the two decay fungi in vitro. Results show the crude preparation of A. ingoldii from liquid culture possesses significant mycelial growth inhibitory properties that are concentration dependent against the brownrot and white-rot fungi evaluated. An increase in the concentration of A. ingoldii secondary metabolites significantly decreased the mycelial growth of both wood decay fungi. G. trabeum was more sensitive to the inhibitory effect of the secondary metabolites than T. versicolor. Identification of specific A. ingoldii secondary metabolites, and analysis of their efficacy/specificity warrants further study. Findings from this work may provide the first indication of useful roles for Acaromyces species in a forest environment, and perhaps a future potential in the development of biocontrol-based wood preservation systems.

• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.384-391
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• 2015

In the course of survey of endophytic fungi from Bangladesh pumpkin seeds in 2011~2012, two strains (CNU111042 and CNU111043) with similar colony characteristics were isolated and characterized by their morphology and by molecular phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd), and Alternaria allergen a1 (Alt a1) sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of all three sequences and their combined dataset revealed that the fungus formed a subclade within the A. alternata clade, matching A. burnsii and showing differences with its other closely related Alternaria species, such as A. longipes, A. tomato, and A. tomaticola. Long ellipsoid, obclavate or ovoid beakless conidia, shorter and thinner conidial size ($16{\sim}60[90]{\times}6.5{\sim}14[{\sim}16]{\mu}m$) distinguish this fungus from other related species. These isolates showed more transverse septation (2~11) and less longitudinal septation (0~3) than did other related species. Moreover, the isolate did not produce any diffusible pigment on media. Therefore, our results reveal that the newly recorded fungus from a new host, Cucurbita maxima, is Alternaria burnsii Uppal, Patel & Kamat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1379-1385
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• 2017

The content of taxol in the bark of yews is very low, and this is not affordable from the environmental point of view. Thus, it is a necessity to look for alternative sources of taxol production to solve its supply. Currently, a large portion of the taxol in the market comes from chemical semi-synthesis, but the semi-synthetic precursors such as baccatin III and 10-deacetyl-baccatin III are extracted from needles and twigs of yew trees. Taxol-producing fungi as a renewable resource is a very promising way to increase the scale of taxol production. Our group has obtained a taxol-producing endophytic fungus, Aspergillus niger subsp. taxi HD86-9, to examine if A. niger can produce the taxanes. Six compounds from the fermentation broth of strain HD86-9 were isolated and identified by $^1H$ NMR, $^{13}C$ NMR, and ESI-MS. The results showed that the six compounds included four taxane diterpenoids (taxol, cephalomannine, baccatin III, and 10-deacetyl-baccatin III) and two non-taxane compounds (${\beta}-sitosterol$ and flavonoid isovitexin). The study verified that the taxanes can be produced by the A. niger, which is very important to taxol production via chemical semi-synthesis. Additionally, the finding is potentially very significant to solve the taxol semi-synthetic precursors extracted from needles and twigs of yew trees, and the precursor production can be easily increased through the culture condition optimization, genetic breeding, and metabolic engineering of the A. niger.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.3059-3062
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• 2014

Two new butyrolactones, asperphenol A (1) and B (2), together with four known butyrolactones (3-6) were isolated from the fermentation products of an endophytic fungus Aspergillus versicolor. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques. Compounds 1-6 were also tested for their anti-tobacco mosaic virus (anti-TMV) activities. The results showed that compound 2 exhibited high anti-TMV activity with inhibition rate of 46.7%. The other compounds also exhibited potential anti-TMV activities with inhibition rates in the range of 21.8-28.4%.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2015

Increased use of rhinoceros beetles (Allomyrina dichotoma ) for food and medicine, and their elevated value as pets has led to an increase in the number of their breeding farms. Mass breeding of the insects in these farms leads to entomological diseases. In this study, we investigate cannibalism resulting from overcrowded breeding of A. dichotoma larvae, as well as secondary fungal infections in epidermal wounds in the surviving larvae. Some of the fungi detected in the present study showed entomopathogenicity, and the larvae showed different times of death. In particular, larvae infected with Clonostachys sp., an endophytic plant fungus, grew for a long time after infection, but died without pupating.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1065-1070
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• 2017

This study aimed to examine the anti-candidal efficacy of a novel ketone derivative isolated from Diaporthe sp. ED2, an endophytic fungus residing in medicinal herb Orthosiphon stamieus Benth. The ethyl acetate extract of the fungal culture was separated by open column and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The eluent at retention time 5.64 min in the HPLC system was the only compound that exhibited anti-candidal activity on Kirby-Bauer assay. The structure of the compound was also elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance and spectroscopy techniques. The purified anti-candidal compound was obtained as a colorless solid and characterized as 3-hydroxy-5-methoxyhex-5-ene-2,4-dione. On broth microdilution assay, the compound also exhibited fungicidal activity on a clinical strain of Candida albicans at a minimal inhibitory concentration of $3.1{\mu}g/ml$. The killing kinetic analysis also revealed that the compound was fungicidal against C. albicans in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The compound was heat-stable up to $70^{\circ}C$, but its anti-candidal activity was affected at pH 2.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.287-294
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• 2007

Endophytic fungi were isolated from surface sterilized root tissues of Aralia elata and Aralia continentalis, collected from farmer's field in Chungnam province, Republic of Korea, in 2005. Based on ITS sequence analysis, 24 fungal genera were characterized from 359 isolates, belonging to 22 Ascomycota, 1 Glomeromycota and 1 Oomycota. Strumella, Rhizopycnis and Entrophospora in A. elata and Rhizopycnis and Leptosphaeria in A. continentalis were the most abundant taxa. Out of 24 genera, Entrophospora, Leptodontidium, Neoplaconema, Paraconiothyrium, Rhizopycnis, Strumella and Tumularia were new to Korea. A total of 110 isolates were tested for antifungal activities against six plant pathogenic fungi. Out of these, 39 isolates showed antifungal activity against at least one plant pathogenic fungi. Four isolates of Pyrenochaeta, 1 isolate of Entrophospora and 1 unidentified fungus strongly inhibited the growth of six plant pathogenic fungi.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2016

Paclitaxel (taxol) has long been used as a potent anticancer agent for the treatment of many cancers. Ever since the fungal species Taxomyces andreanae was first shown to produce taxol in 1993, many endophytic fungal species have been recognized as taxol accumulators. In this study, we analyzed the taxol-producing capacity of different Colletotrichum spp. to determine the distribution of a taxol biosynthetic gene within this genus. Distribution of the taxadiene synthase (TS) gene, which cyclizes geranylgeranyl diphosphate to produce taxadiene, was analyzed in 12 Colletotrichum spp., of which 8 were found to contain the unique skeletal core structure of paclitaxel. However, distribution of the gene was not limited to closely related species. The production of taxol by Colletotrichum dematium, which causes pepper anthracnose, depended on the method in which the fungus was stored, with the highest production being in samples stored under mineral oil. Based on its distribution among Colletotrichum spp., the TS gene was either integrated into or deleted from the bacterial genome in a species-specific manner. In addition to their taxol-producing capacity, the simple genome structure and easy gene manipulation of these endophytic fungal species make them valuable resources for identifying genes in the taxol biosynthetic pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1244-1249
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• 2009

Endophytic fungi are known for the production of valuable metabolites, but information on the gibberellin production capacity of this group is limited. We isolated 9 endophytic fungi from the roots of salt-stressed soybean plants and screened them on waito-c rice, in order to identify plant growth promoting fungal strains. The fungal isolate TK-2-4 gave maximum plant length (20.35 cm) promotion in comparison with wild-type Gibberella fujikuroi (19.5 cm). In a separate experiment, bioassay of TK-2-4 promoted plant length and biomass of soybean cultivar Taegwangkong. The TK-2-4 culture filtrate was analyzed for the presence of gibberellins, and it was found that all physiologically active gibberellins, especially $GA_4$ and $GA_7$, were present in higher amounts ($GA_1$, 0.11 ng/ml; $GA_3$, 2.91 ng/ml; $GA_4$, 3.21 ng/ml; and $GA_7$, 1.4 ng/ml) in conjunction with physiologically inactive $GA_9$ (0.05 ng/ml), $GA_{12}$ (0.23 ng/ ml), $GA_{15}$ (0.42 ng/ml), $GA_{19}$ (0.53 ng/ml), and $GA_{20}$ (0.06 ng/ml). The fungal isolate TK-2-4 was later identified as a new strain of Phoma herbarum, through the phylogenetic analysis of 28S rDNA sequence.