Isolation and identification of fungi associated with Avicennia alba in Setiu Wetlands

Abstract

Mangrove was proven to be one of the sources of compounds possessing physiological activities. Thus, the chances in finding novel active compounds may widen by investigating the secondary metabolites of fungi associated with mangrove Avicennia alba in Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu. Fungi were isolated from different fragments of A.alba tree: aerial twigs, intertidal twigs, aerial leaves, intertidal leaves, leaves decay and roots. A total of 41 fungi were isolated where 11 of them were isolated by using damp incubation technique and the rest were isolated by using direct plating technique. There were 20 Ascomycetes, seven Deuteromycetes and one Zygomycetes identified. The highest number of identified fungi was belong to aerial twig substrates (12 species) and the lowest belong to leaves decay substrate (3 species). Out of 41 isolated fungi, only eight species were identified as marine fungi. These isolated fungi are useful for further investigation in finding potential bioactive compounds.