Philippine Journal of Science
153 No. 6A: 2127-2151, December 2024
ISSN 0031 – 7683
Date Received: 17 May 2024
Diversity and Phylogeny of Root Fungal Endophytes Associated with Lahar-grown Pioneering Grass Saccharum spontaneum L.
Ervinna M. Cruz1,2 and Thomas Edison E. dela Cruz1,2,3*
1The Graduate School, 2Fungal Biodiversity, Ecogenomics, and Systematics-Metabolomics (FBeS) Group, Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, and 3Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd. 1015 Manila the Philippines
*Corresponding author: tedelacruz@ust.edu.ph
Cruz E, dela Cruz TE. 2024. Diversity and Phylogeny of Root Fungal Endophytes Associated with Lahar-grown Pioneering Grass Saccharum spontaneum L. Philipp J Sci 153(6A): 2127–2151.
ABSTRACT
Fungal endophytes can enhance nutrient uptake and induce resistance in their host plants, leading to better plant growth and development. In this research, we report the occurrence and diversity of root fungal endophytes (RFE) associated with a grass species, Saccharum spontaneum L., which are growing in lahar areas along Sacobia River, Pampanga, northern Philippines. Lahar flow is a mixture of water and volcanic debris. This study identified the isolated sixtyeight RFE through morpho-cultural characterization and molecular analysis of ITS genes and classified these as belonging to nine genera – namely Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Penicillium, Purpureocillium, Talaromyces, Trichoderma, and Rhizoctonia. Analysis of the rarefaction curve showed a 75% sampling effort, with Host Plants 1 and 3 having the most diverse species. Our study highlighted the enormous diversity of fungal endophytes from three host plants that thrive in areas affected by volcanic activities.