Diversity, Antibacterial And Biofilm-Inhibiting Activities Of Fungal Endophytes Associated With The Philippine Endemic Ginger Plant Vanoverberghia sepulchrei Merr. (Zingiberaceae)
Diversity, Antibacterial And Biofilm-Inhibiting Activities Of Fungal Endophytes Associated With The Philippine Endemic Ginger Plant Vanoverberghia sepulchrei Merr. (Zingiberaceae)
Joel C. Magday, Jr.1,2,5, Grecebio Jonathan D. Alejandro1,3, Melfei E. Bungihan1,2,4 & Thomas Edison E. dela Cruz1,2,3
- The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd. 1015 Manila, Philippines
- Fungal Biodiversity, Ecogenomics and Systematics (FBeS) Group, Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd. 1015 Manila, Philippines
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd. 1015 Manila, Philippines
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd. 1015 Manila, Philippines
- Philippine Science High School – Cagayan Valley Campus, Bayombong 3700 Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
* Corresponding author, E-mail: joel.magday.gs@ust.edu.ph
The pantropical Zingiberaceae family is among the most threatened monocotyledonous plants, with numerous species endemic to the Philippines, and thus, is ideal host to study fungal endophytes. Fungal endophytes are rich sources of novel bioactive metabolites with a broad spectrum of pharmacological application. Currently, bacterial infections are increasing, and endophytes have the potential to halt this issue. In this study, we determined the occurrence and diversity of fungal endophytes associated with the Philippine endemic ginger Vanoverberghia sepulchrei Merr. All major plant organs, i.e., leaf, pseudostem, rhizome, and root, were surface-sterilized to isolate plant-associated fungal endophytes (VFE). A combination of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences derived from ITS were used to identify selected isolated fungi. Our results showed the isolation of twenty fungal morphospecies identified as belonging to the genera Bjerkandera, Cladosporium, Colletotrichum, Cosmospora, Diaporthe, Fusarium, Leptographium, Mucor, Nigrospora, Perenniporia, Phomopsis, Phyllosticta, Phytophthora,Pseudopithomyces, Rhizopus, and Trichoderma. The crude culture extracts at 10 mg/mL showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and biofilm-forming bacteria. The results of this study pave the way for the first report of fungal endophytes from the Philippine endemic ginger. Isolation of fungal endophytes from endemic plant species offers new opportunities for the discovery of novel bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical application that can address the emerging challenges posed by bacterial infections and other medical needs.
