Plant growth-promoting endophytic fungi isolated from roots of some wild grasses inhabiting new reclaimed fields

Document Type : Novel Research Articles

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Botany and Microbiology,Faculty of Science,Assiut,Egypt

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to isolate endophytic fungi and examine their potentiality for promoting plant growth by assaying production of ammonia, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and their efficiency for phosphate solubilization. Ninety-eight fungal isolates belonging to 26 genera were obtained from the roots of seven common grasses inhabiting the newly reclaimed fields at Arab El-Awamer, Assiut Governorate. The grasses were Cynodon dactylon, Dichanthium annulatum, Digitaria sanguinalis, Echinochloa colona, Paspalum dilatatum, Setaria verticillata, and Sorghum virgatum. Fusarium was the abundant genus accounting 21.6% of the recorded endophytic fungi, Curvularia was next, with a high recovery rate and a total count of 12.5% of all endophytic fungi. C. dactylon roots associated with the highest fungal dominance, whereas the lowest dominance was recorded in P. dilatatum. The cluster analysis segregated the studied grasses into three distinct groups (A, B and C) of plants concerning the occurrence of fungal communities. Eleven endophytic fungal species (out of 43 spp.) were restricted to the group A (C. dactylon, S. verticillata and S. virgatum), 8 to group B (D. annulatum and D. sanguinalis) and 6 to group C (E. colona and P. dilatatum). Eight fungal species were common in the three groups and 10 appeared in two groups. Out of 98 fungal isolates, only 10 isolates were negative for IAA production; the remaining isolates produced IAA but with varying concentrations. Only two, F. pallidiroseum and F. fujikuroi were found to solubilize tricalcium phosphate.

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