Isolation and identification of fungi associated with Acrostichum Aureum mangrove in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Abstract

Bioactive compounds in mangroves may come from the plants or from microbes associated with the plants. Therefore, in this study, possible fungi associated with Acrostichum aureum were isolated and identified. The sampling site of the mangrove was in zone 1 in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). Two isolation techniques were used, the direct plating technique and damp incubation technique. In direct plating technique, a total of eight species of fungi have been successfully isolated from the leaves, branches, and roots of the Acrostichum aureum, where seven Ascomycota and one Zygomycota have been identified. The Ascomycota are Nigrospora sphaerica, Curvularia lunata, Microsporum cookei, Aureobasidium kiliense, Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus terreus, and Phialophora parastica, while the Zygomycota is Absidia corymbifera. The highest number of fungal isolates was obtained from root samples compared to leaves and branches.