Leaf-inhabiting endophytes belong to a diverse and active group of plant-associated fungi
harboured in plant-rich tropical environments. Employing dilution-to-extinction cultivation
and ITS sequencing, we assessed species richness, phylogeny and community
composition of fungal endophytes within healthy leaves of three Ficus tree species (F.
religiosa, F. benjamina, and F. elastica) naturally growing in the two Philippine forest reserves
Mt. Makiling in Laguna and Mt. PalayePalay in Cavite. Apart from a few basidiomycetes (3
orders, 6 genera), fungal isolates were abundantly ascomycetes (11 orders, 16 genera) and
predominated by commonly known endophytic genera, such as Pseudocercospora, Phyllosticta,
or Penicillium. Phylogenetic analysis revealed Capnodiales and Eurotiales as most
OTU-rich clades and suggesting a high potential pathogen load in the investigated trees.
Biodiversity analyses further revealed a higher similarity between the fungal species
composition in the leaves of F. benjamina and F. elastica than to the one in F. religiosa. The
observed higher abundance, species richness and similarity of the fungal community
assemblage in the closely related host species F. benjamina and F. elastica, suggests an effect
of host identity in structuring fungal endophytes community in the tropics.
© 2015 The Mycological Society of Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.