Diversity of Endophytic Fungi Associated with the Aerial Roots of Ficus benghalensis L. in the Sacred Groves of Ponnamaravathi, Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu, India
Raman Chandrasekar
*
P.G. and Research Department of Botany, J.J. College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Pudukkottai – 622 422, India.
K. Buvaneshwari
P.G. and Research Department of Botany, J.J. College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Pudukkottai – 622 422, India.
Akash Amulpandi
*
Department of Agriculture, Kalasalingam School of Agriculture and Horticulture, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Srivilliputhur, Virudhunagar, India.
S. Vinoth Ponpandian
P.G. and Research Department of Botany, J.J. College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Pudukkottai – 622 422, India.
M. Arumugam
P.G. and Research Department of Botany, J.J. College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Pudukkottai – 622 422, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Endophytic fungi are asymptomatic microorganisms that colonise internal plant tissues and contribute to plant health, ecological interactions and secondary metabolite production. This study investigated the diversity of culturable endophytic fungi associated with the aerial roots of Ficus benghalensis L. collected from sacred groves at Ponnamaravathi, Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu, India. Healthy aerial root samples were collected during different seasonal periods and processed using surface-sterilisation and culture-dependent isolation methods. Sterilised root segments were inoculated on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and incubated under laboratory conditions. Emerging fungal colonies were purified through repeated sub-culturing and identified using macroscopic and microscopic characters, including colony morphology, hyphal features, conidial arrangement and spore morphology. Nine culturable fungal taxa were recorded: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus fumigatus, Paecilomyces sp., Neotyphodium sp., Pseudosigmoidea sp., Rhizopus sp. and members of Mucormycotina. Seasonal variation was observed, with the highest recorded richness during summer. Aspergillus was the predominant genus among the isolates. The findings indicate that the aerial roots of F. benghalensis harbour a diverse assemblage of culturable endophytic fungi and may represent a useful source of fungal biodiversity. Because identification was based on morphology, molecular confirmation using ITS rDNA sequencing and further ecological, biochemical and functional studies are needed to confirm taxonomy and evaluate potential applications.
Keywords: Endophytic fungi, Ficus benghalensis, aerial roots, sacred groves, culturable fungi, seasonal variation, Aspergillus, morphological identification, fungal biodiversity, endophyte ecology