ENDOPHYTIC FUNGUS, ACREMONIUM BORODINENSE, FROM TROPICAL TREE SPECIES, TECTONA GRANDIS LINN.F. MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION

Forest trees have symbiotic relationships with endophytic fungi, a prospective microbial resource with the ability to manufacture biologically active substances as secondary metabolites from the host plant, which could provide a number of benefits. In Tamil Nadu, India, a species of Acremonium was discovered during the isolation of endophytic fungi from healthy teak leaf samples. The endophytic fungal isolate's morphological characteristics matched those of Acremonium borodinense, which was validated by genetic analysis. For molecular phylogenetic analysis, the primary amplicon produced by Polymerase Chain Reaction of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region was sequenced. According to the current phylogenetic analysis of this ITS sequence, the species of fungus was identified as Acremonium borodinense. In India, the fungus Acremonium borodinense (GenBank Accession number MW882246) is a new record as a teak endophyte.