Diversity and Ginsenoside Biotransformation Potential of Cultivable Endophytic Fungi Associated With var. in Qinling Mountains, China.

To obtain novel fungi with potent β-glucosidase for minor ginsenoside production, var. , which is a traditional medicinal plant containing various ginsenosides, was first employed to isolate endophytic fungi in this study. A total of 93 representative morphotype strains were isolated and identified according to ITS rDNA sequence analyses, and they were grouped into three phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota), five classes (Dothideomycetes, Sordariomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Agaricomycetes, and Mucoromycetes), and 24 genera. (RA, 19.35%) was the most abundant genus, followed by (RA, 11.83%) and m (RA, 9.70%). The species richness index (S, 34) and the Shannon-Wiener index (', 3.004) indicated that harbored abundant fungal resources. A total of 26 endophytic fungal ethyl acetate extracts exhibited inhibitory activities against at least one pathogenic bacterium or fungus. In total, 11 strains showed strong β-glucosidase activities and also presented with the ability of ginsenoside biotransformation with varied glycoside-hydrolyzing pathways. Excitingly, three genera, namely, , , and , and all 11 taxa were first found to have the ability to transform ginsenosides in our study. The results indicated that could be a new fungi resource with potential novel natural compounds with antimicrobial activity and potent β-glucosidase for varied minor ginsenoside production.