Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi, Kerala 682016, India.
National Centre for Aquatic Animal Health, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi, Kerala 682016, India.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2020 Jun 1;367(11). doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnaa078.
Diversity studies of endophytic assemblages are emerging challenges, which unveil novel phenotypes producing interesting chemical entities and a better understanding of their ecological significance. In the present investigation, we selected an extremely complex and unique environment supporting unexplored endophytes, 'Macroalgae of Kerala coast, India'. Unlike terrestrial flora and mangroves, reports displaying endophytic assemblages of marine flora remain limited, especially from India. The main goal of this study was to expose hidden endophytic fungi from macroalgae and examination of their bioactive potential. An ecological investigation of four red, four green and three brown algae resulted in 133 fungal taxa with 29 distinct morphospecies. Aspergillus and Penicillium were found to be the dominant genera. Penicillium chrysogenum was the sole fungi that contributed 11% of the entire endophytic community. Antimicrobial activity against various aquaculture/human pathogens revealed that around 59% of endophytes inhibited at least one of the pathogens screened. The maximum number of isolates (37%) inhibited Escherichia coli tailed by Aspergillus fumigatus (27%). Antimicrobial profile of fungal endophytes endorses them as a potential source of bioactive molecules that can be explored to find a solution for drug resistance in microbial pathogens.
内生菌组合的多样性研究是一个新兴的挑战，它揭示了产生有趣化学物质的新表型，并更好地了解了它们的生态意义。在本研究中，我们选择了一个极其复杂和独特的环境来支持未被探索的内生菌，即“印度喀拉拉邦的大型藻类”。与陆地植物和红树林不同，显示海洋植物内生菌组合的报告仍然有限，特别是来自印度的报告。本研究的主要目的是从大型藻类中揭示隐藏的内生真菌，并研究它们的生物活性潜力。对四种红藻、四种绿藻和三种褐藻进行生态调查，共获得 133 个真菌类群，其中 29 个为不同的形态种。曲霉属和青霉属是主要的属。青霉属中只有青霉素属的真菌对整个内生菌群的贡献为 11%。对各种水产养殖/人类病原体的抗菌活性表明，约有 59%的内生菌抑制了至少一种筛选出的病原体。分离出的内生真菌数量最多（37%），其次是抑制大肠埃希菌的烟曲霉（27%）。内生真菌的抗菌谱表明它们是生物活性分子的潜在来源，可以探索这些分子来解决微生物病原体的耐药性问题。
