Morphological and molecular characterization of endophytic fungi isolated Alstonia boonei De Wild

Paola Cynthia Emoh Demeni; Patrick Hervé Diboue Betote; Gisèle Aurelie Dadji Foko; Jean-paul Assam Assam; Marie-Florence Biabi A Bite; Eric Ngalani Tchamgoue; Noella Molisa Efange; Bruno Ndjakou Lenta; Lawrence Ayong; Maximilienne Ascension Nyegue

Scientific African (Mar 2025)

Morphological and molecular characterization of endophytic fungi isolated Alstonia boonei De Wild

Paola Cynthia Emoh Demeni,
Patrick Hervé Diboue Betote,
Gisèle Aurelie Dadji Foko,
Jean-paul Assam Assam,
Marie-Florence Biabi A Bite,
Eric Ngalani Tchamgoue,
Noella Molisa Efange,
Bruno Ndjakou Lenta,
Lawrence Ayong,
Maximilienne Ascension Nyegue

Affiliations

Paola Cynthia Emoh Demeni: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, P.O. Box 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Department of Chemistry, Higher Teacher Training College, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 47, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Corresponding authors.
Patrick Hervé Diboue Betote: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Laboratory of Pharmacology, Centre for Research on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies, P.O. Box 13033, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Gisèle Aurelie Dadji Foko: Department of Biological Sciences, Higher Teacher Training College, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 47, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Jean-paul Assam Assam: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Marie-Florence Biabi A Bite: Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, P.O. Box 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Eric Ngalani Tchamgoue: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Noella Molisa Efange: Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, P.O. Box 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
Bruno Ndjakou Lenta: Department of Biological Sciences, Higher Teacher Training College, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 47, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Lawrence Ayong: Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, P.O. Box 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Maximilienne Ascension Nyegue: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Equipe glyco et nanovecteurs pour le ciblage thérapeutique, Université of Montpellier, FR-34093 Montpellier Cedex 5, France; Corresponding authors.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 27
p. e02550

Abstract

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Endophytic fungi comprise a diverse group of fungal species that vary in symbiotic and ecological functions, and thought to contribute to the medicinal properties of certain host plants. The aim of this work was to investigate the biodiversity of endophytic fungi colonizing Alstonia boonei De Wild, a widely used medicinal plant in sub-Saharan Africa. Endophytic fungi were isolated from leaves, stem bark and root bark of A. boonei using potato dextrose agar (PDA), Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and Czapek Dox agar (CZA) as recovery media, and malt extract agar (MEA) or yeast extract agar (YEA) for macroscopic characterization of isolates. Isolates were further characterized microscopically, and molecularly using conventional primers targeting the 5.8S ribosomal subunit. A total of 41 morphologically distinct isolate groups were obtained from 73 fungal isolates selected (28 in PDA, 26 in SDA and 19 in CZA), and microscopically classified into 9 genera (11 Fusarium spp, 03 Acremonium spp, 03 Trichoderma spp, 04 Neoscytalidium spp, 02 Xylaria spp, 03 Fomitiporia spp, 03 Phomopsis spp, 04 Lasiodiplodia spp, 02 Chaetomium spp and 06 non-sporulating isolates). Fifty-six (76.7 %) of the selected isolates were successfully amplified using fungal-specific primers, with PCR band sizes ranging from 500 to 665 base pairs. Of these, a total of 45 molecular variants were obtained, with Fusarium spp and Lasiodiplodia spp exhibiting the highest variability (14 and 12 molecular variants, respectively). Collectively, our data reveal strong colonization of A. boonei by phenotypically and genotypically diverse fungal endophytes, underscoring the critical importance of fungal symbiosis in A. boonei biology.

Published in Scientific African

ISSN: 2468-2276 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/scientific-african

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