Diversity of Endophytic and Pathogenic Fungi of Saffron (Crocus sativus) Plants from Cultivation Sites in Italy
Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, Division of Perugia, Via della Madonna Alta 130, 06128 Perugia, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Milko A. Jorquera and Jacquelinne Acuña
Diversity 2021, 13(11), 535; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110535
Received: 29 September 2021
/
Revised: 18 October 2021
/
Accepted: 22 October 2021
/
Published: 26 October 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity, Interaction and Bioprospecting of Plant-Associated Microbiomes)
Crocus sativus is an important crop for the production of saffron and bioactive compounds. Plant endophytic fungi are a source of secondary metabolites additional to those produced by the plant itself. We analysed the biodiversity of endophytic fungi present in corms, stems, leaves, tepals, and stigmas of C. sativus from ten Italian sites; furthermore, we isolated putative pathogenic fungi from rotten plants. We used an in vitro isolation approach followed by molecular analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) region. We obtained 165 strains belonging to 39 OTUs, spreading over 26 genera and 29 species. Dark septate endophytes of the genus Cadophora and the species Talaromyces pinophilus dominated in corms, while Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum spp., T. pinophilus, Mucor fragilis, and Stemphylium vesicarium dominated in other tissues. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus oryzae. Endophytic communities significantly differed among tissues and life stages, whereas differences among cultivation sites were not statistically supported. Several endophytes were hypothesized to have changing trophic modes and/or to be latent pathogens in C. sativus. All strains were conserved ex-situ for future bioactivity tests and production of metabolites.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
Cadophora spp.; corm rot; dark septate endophytes; functional guild; internal transcribed spacer; Talaromyces spp.
▼
Show Figures
Graphical abstract
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
- Supplementary File 1:
ZIP-Document (ZIP, 1635 KiB)
MDPI and ACS Style
Belfiori, B.; Rubini, A.; Riccioni, C. Diversity of Endophytic and Pathogenic Fungi of Saffron (Crocus sativus) Plants from Cultivation Sites in Italy. Diversity 2021, 13, 535. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110535
AMA Style
Belfiori B, Rubini A, Riccioni C. Diversity of Endophytic and Pathogenic Fungi of Saffron (Crocus sativus) Plants from Cultivation Sites in Italy. Diversity. 2021; 13(11):535. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110535
Chicago/Turabian StyleBelfiori, Beatrice, Andrea Rubini, and Claudia Riccioni. 2021. "Diversity of Endophytic and Pathogenic Fungi of Saffron (Crocus sativus) Plants from Cultivation Sites in Italy" Diversity 13, no. 11: 535. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110535
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
