Fungal endophytes inhabit healthy tissues of all terrestrial plant taxa studied to date and are diverse and abundant in leaves of tropical woody angiosperms. Studies have demonstrated that plant location and leaf age influence density of endophyte infection in leaves of tropical forest trees. However, ecological factors underlying these observations have not been explored in detail. Here, we es...

Olive tree pruning, as one of the most abundant lignocellulosic residues in Mediterranean countries, has been evaluated as a source of sugars for fuel and chemicals production. A mild acid pretreatment has been combined with a fungal pretreatment using either two endophytes (Ulocladium sp. and Hormonema sp.) or a saprophyte (Trametes sp. I-62). The use of endophytes is based on the important ro...

Studies of fungi in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cultivated in the United States have largely focused on monitoring and controlling plant pathogens. Given increasing interest in asymptomatic fungal endophytes as potential biological control agents, surveys are needed to better characterize their diversity, distribution patterns and possible applications in integrated pest management. We s...

Fungal endophytes are extremely common and highly diverse microorganisms that live within plant tissues, but usually remain asymptomatic. Endophytes traditionally have been considered plant mutualists, mainly by reducing herbivory via production of mycotoxins, such as alkaloids. However, the vast majority of endophytes, especially horizontally-transmitted ones commonly found in woody plants, ap...

The effects of two entomopathogenic fungal endophytes, Beauveria bassiana and Purpureocillium lilacinum (formerly Paecilomyces lilacinus), were assessed on the reproduction of cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera:Aphididae), through in planta feeding trials. In replicate greenhouse and field trials, cotton plants (Gossypium hirsutum) were inoculated as seed treatments with two concent...

The species diversity and distribution of 3 ecological groups of fungi (viz., foliar endophytes, phellophytes, and leaf litter fungi of 6 tree hosts of a dry thorn forest and 6 tree hosts of an evergreen forest of southern India) were studied. As the methods of sampling and the isolation procedure were maintained constant, the results could be compared across hosts and fungal assemblages. The d...

Background: Endophytic fungi are known as a producer of myriad bioactive natural products, including those originally produced by the host plants. Huperzine A (Hup A), lycopodium alkaloid, which was reported an active acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) agent used for treatment Alzheimer’s disease, isolated from medicinal Chinese herbs Huperzia serrata. Moreover, various species endophytic a...

Although associated with all plants, fungal endophytes (microfungi that live within healthy plant tissues) represent an unknown proportion of fungal diversity. While there is a growing appreciation of their ecological importance and human uses, little is known about their host specificity, geographic structure, or phylogenetic relationships. We surveyed endophytic Ascomycota from healthy photos...

Tropical and subtropical plants are rich in endophytic community diversity. Endophytes, mainly fungi and bacteria, inhabit the healthy plant tissues without causing any damage to the hosts. These fungi can be useful for biological control of pathogens and plant growth promotion. Some plants of the genus Piper are hosts of endophytic microorganisms; however, there is little information abou...

Most studies examining endophytic fungi associated with grasses (Poaceae) have focused on agronomically important species in managed ecosystems or on wild grasses in subtropical, temperate and boreal grasslands. However grasses first arose in tropical forests, where they remain a significant and diverse component of understory and forest-edge communities. To provide a broader context for unders...