Isolation and Characterization of endophytic fungi from Geranium wallichianum D Don ex Sweet and Inula racemosa Hook f important medicinal plants of Kashmir Himalaya

Abstract

Fungal endophytes, found in nearly all plants, are a largely untapped source of bioactive compounds, especially within ethnomedicinal plants from ecologically rich regions. This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of fungal endophytes associated with Geranium wallichianum D. Don ex Sweet and Inula racemosa Hook. f., two significant medicinal plants from the Kashmir Himalaya. Despite their medicinal importance, the endophytic fungi of these plants had not been previously studied. Given the potential of endophytes to produce novel bioactive compounds, this study aimed to fill this gap by isolating and characterizing fungal endophytes from healthy plant samples of G. wallichianum and I. racemosa collected from Poonch and Faqir Gujri in Kashmir. newlineIn the present study, a total of fifty-three fungal endophyte species were isolated and identified. Among these, G. wallichianum harboured thirty-five species belonging to twenty-two genera, while in I. racemosa, twenty-three species from sixteen genera were obtained. The Ascomycota division was predominant, with some species from Basidiomycota and Zygomycota. The fungal endophytes were initially identified based on their morphological characteristics. Subsequent molecular analysis uncovered ten specific fungal species viz. Arthrinium phaeospermum, Diaporthe amygdali, Talaromyces amestolkiae, Chaetomium atrobrunneum, Pestalotiopsis microspora, Phellinus caribaeo-quercicola, Phomopsis tuberivora, Schizophyllum commune, Trichoderma afroharzianum, and Trichoderma viride. Remarkably, Diaporthe amygdali, Chaetomium atrobrunneum, Talaromyces amestolkiae, and Trichoderma afroharzianum are new reports in India as endophytes, while Phellinus caribaeo-quercicola and Phomopsis tuberivora are globally recorded as endophytes for the first time. Diversity of the fungal endophytes varied by plant part, with leaves showing the highest species richness. This study also assessed the effectiveness of different media such as Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), Sabouraud Dextrose Ag...