Fungal Root Microbiome from Healthy and Brittle Leaf Diseased Date Palm Trees ( L.) Reveals a Hidden Untapped Arsenal of Antibacterial and Broad Spectrum Antifungal Secondary Metabolites.

In this study, we aimed to explore and compare the composition, metabolic diversity and antimicrobial potential of endophytic fungi colonizing internal tissues of healthy and brittle leaf diseased (BLD) date palm trees ( L.) widely cultivated in arid zones of Tunisia. A total of 52 endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy and BLD roots of date palm trees, identified based on internal transcribed spacer-rDNA sequence analysis and shown to represent 13 species belonging to five genera.