Fungal endophytes and leaf litter fungi as sources of novel inhibitor-resistant cellulase for biofuel production: a basic study.

Unlabelled: Hydrothermal pretreatments are commonly employed prior to the biotechnological conversion of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) into value-added products, such as fuels and chemicals. However, the by-products of this pretreatment, including furaldehydes, lignin-derived phenolics, and carboxylic acids, can inhibit the enzymes and microbes used in the biotechnological process. In this study, LCB degrading enzymes of endophytic and litter fungi were screened for their tolerance to potential pretreatment-derived inhibitors.

Comparative Metagenomic Analysis of Seed Endobiome of Domesticated and Wild Finger Millet Species (Eleusine spp.): Unveiling Microbial Diversity and Composition.

Domestication, which involves selective breeding, modern agricultural practices, and specific growing conditions, can influence the microbial and endophytic communities in crop plants. In this study, we examined the microbial diversity and community composition in the seeds of wild and domesticated finger millet species. We employed a metagenomic approach to investigate the seed microbial diversity and community composition of wild (Eleusine africana) and domesticated finger millet species (Eleusine coracana (L.

Amorosia littoralis Mantle & D. Hawksw. survives as root endophyte of mangroves and produces water soluble melanin pigment.

Melanins are heterogenous biopolymers produced by many macro and microorganisms. They enhance the ecological fitness of the producer organisms by improving their virulence and protecting them from radiation, osmotic and heat stresses. Fungi synthesise either DOPA or DHN melanin and deposit them on their cell walls.

Alkaliphilic and thermostable lipase production by leaf litter fungus Leptosphaerulina trifolii A SMR-2011.

Fungi that inhabit fire-prone forests have to be adapted to harsh conditions and fungi affiliated to Ascomycota recovered from foliar litter samples were used for bioprospecting of molecules such as enzymes. Agni's fungi isolated from leaf litter, whose spores are capable of tolerating 110 C were screened for thermostable lipases. One of the isolates, Leptosphaerulina trifolii A SMR-2011 exhibited high positive lipase activity than other isolates while screening through agar plate assay using Tween 20 in the medium.

Crowdsourcing for mining new fungal sources for addressing the need for novel antibiotics against multidrug resistant pathogens.

There are a limited number of new antibiotics to manage the health crisis caused by the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria including multidrug resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pan-drug-resistant (PDR) ones. Bioprospecting fungi of less studied and extreme environments using new and less used older approaches could reveal novel antibiotics to manage MDR pathogens. Furthermore, I posit a crowdsourcing model which could substantially increase the chances of discovering novel antibiotics as well as new chemotypes for other therapeutic areas and considerably reduce the cost and time of this exercise.

Leaf photosynthesis: do endophytes have a say?

Endophytes, both bacterial and fungal, constitute an integral component of the leaf ecosystem. Here we argue that the respiratory metabolism of endophytes in the intercellular spaces of leaves could have a significant role in enhancing leaf photosynthesis by enriching the internal CO concentration, especially in C3 plants.

Isolation and characterization of thermostable and alkali-tolerant cellulase from litter endophytic fungus Bartalinia pondoensis.

Endophytic fungi in plant tissues produce a wide range of secondary metabolites and enzymes, which exhibit a variety of biological activities. In the present study, litter endophytic fungi were isolated from a fire-prone forest and screened for thermostable cellulases. Among nine endophytic fungi tested, two isolates, Bartalinia pondoensis and Phoma sp.

Seed Treatment With Systemic Fungicides: Time for Review.

Pre-sowing seed treatment with systemic fungicides is a firmly entrenched practice for most agricultural crops worldwide. The treatment is intended to protect the crop against seed- and soil-borne diseases. In recent years, there is increasing evidence that fungicidal applications to manage diseases might inadvertently also affect non-target organisms, such as endophytes.

Fungal Endophyte-Mediated Crop Improvement: The Way Ahead.

Endophytes are non-disease causing microbes (bacteria and fungi) surviving in living tissues of plants. Their intimate association and possible coevolution with their plant partners have resulted in them contributing to an array of plant growth benefits ranging from enhanced growth and biomass accumulation, tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses and in nutrient acquisition. The last couple of decades have witnessed a burgeoning literature on the role of endophytes (Class 3 type) in regulating plant growth and development and their adaptation to abiotic and biotic stresses.

Threshing Yards: Graveyard of Maternally Borne Seed Microbiome?

Plant domestication, at least in cereals, is associated with the loss of the shattering allele. In such species, grains are manually harvested and threshed, leaving behind naked seeds. This could have led to the loss of maternally borne seed microbiomes and their associated benefits in modern-day domesticated species.

Endolichenic fungal diversity associated with some lichens of the Western Ghats.

A total of 389 strains of fungi belonging to 38 species were isolated from 10 lichen species of the Western Ghats, southern India. All the lichens screened, irrespective of their growth forms or location, harboured endolichenic fungi. Most of the fungi belonged to the Ascomycotina.

Endolichenic fungi: the lesser known fungal associates of lichens.

Lichens are the result of a stable mutualism between a fungal and a photosynthesising partner (alga or cyanobacterium). In addition to the fungal partner in this mutualism, lichens are associated with endolichenic fungi which reside inside their thalli. The endolichenic fungi appear to have evolved with the lichen and many of them are a source of novel metabolites vested with unique bioactivities.

Characterization of an ionic liquid-tolerant β-xylosidase from a marine-derived fungal endophyte.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are used in lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) pretreatment because of their ability to disrupt the extensive hydrogen-bonding network in cellulose and hemicellulose, and thereby decrease LCB recalcitrance to subsequent enzymatic degradation. However, this approach necessitates the development of cellulases and hemicellulases that can tolerate ∼20% (w/v) IL, an amount that either co-precipitates with the sugar polymers after the initial pretreatment or is typically used in single-pot biomass deconstructions. By investigating the secretomes from 4 marine-derived fungal endophytes, we identified a β-xylosidase derived from Trichoderma harzianum as the most promising in terms of tolerating 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium-dimethyl phosphate (EMIM-DMP), an IL.

A High Diversity in Chitinolytic and Chitosanolytic Species and Enzymes and Their Oligomeric Products Exist in Soil with a History of Chitin and Chitosan Exposure.

Chitin is one of the most abundant biomolecules on earth, and its partially de-N-acetylated counterpart, chitosan, is one of the most promising biotechnological resources due to its diversity in structure and function. Recently, chitin and chitosan modifying enzymes (CCMEs) have gained increasing interest as tools to engineer chitosans with specific functions and reliable performance in biotechnological and biomedical applications. In a search for novel CCME, we isolated chitinolytic and chitosanolytic microorganisms from soils with more than ten-years history of chitin and chitosan exposure and screened them for chitinase and chitosanase isoenzymes as well as for their patterns of oligomeric products by incubating their secretomes with chitosan polymers.

Fungal endosymbionts of seaweeds.

Seaweeds are being studied for their role in supporting coastal marine life and nutrient cycling and for their bioactive metabolites. For a more complete understanding of seaweed communities, it is essential to obtain information about their interactions with various other components of their ecosystem. While interactions of seaweeds with herbivores such as fish and mesograzers and surface colonizers such as bacteria and microalgae are known, their interactions with marine and marine-derived fungi are little understood.

Fungi from two forests of southern India: a comparative study of endophytes, phellophytes, and leaf litter fungi.

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.

Incidence of Leptosphaerulina crassiasca in symptomless leaves of peanut in southern India.

A Loculoascomycete fungus belonging to the genus Leptosphaerulina was found to survive as symptomless endophyte in the leaflets and rachis of peanut plant (TMV 7). Based on morphological and colony characteristics, it is identified as Leptosphaerulina crassiasca, a fungus that causes the pepper spot and leaf scorch diseases in peanut. Although several common endophytic fungi were recovered from the leaves of peanut, L .