Abstract
Endophytic fungi live inside plant tissues but do not cause any disease symptoms. They produce secondary metabolites that prevent herbivores from eating the plant by making them poisonous or tasteless and have other major roles in nutrient absorption, heat tolerance and biodiversity. The aim of current study was to isolate and identify endophytic fungi from leaves of Taify rose grown in Al-Hada region at Taif, Saudi Arabia. Isolation of endophytic fungi was carried out by microscopic examinations based on the colony's color, shape, strings, conidia, conidiophores and arrangements of spores. The molecular identification was conducted by ITS region sequencing and molecular characterization was achieved by ISSR-PCR. Nine endophytic fungi isolates were obtained from Taify rose leaves. Five of them were identified as Aspergillus niger, two isolates were identified as Alternaria alternata and Penicillium citrinum.
Finally, ISSR-PCR markers revealed a total of 77 bands in all isolates, with about 50.6% monomorphism and 49.4% polymorphism. The dendrogram drew based on genetic similarity and intraspecies variability grouped them into two different clusters with about 0.57 genetic similarity. Aspergillus sp. was the most abundant fungus isolated from Taify rose leaves, while Alternaria and Pencillium species were less prevalent. The ITS sequencing method is absolutely the best in identifying endophytic fungi for their ease and speed while the morphological method can be inaccurate and could consume more time.