Diversity and antimicrobial activity of culturable endophytic fungi associated with the neotropical ethnomedicinal plants Copaifera langsdorffii and Copaifera pubiflora

Medicinal plants represent a promising reservoir of diverse endophytic fungi, including taxa that are able to produce bioactive metabolites. In Brazil, the genus Copaifera includes species that are well known in folk medicine mainly due to their ability to produce oleoresin. In this study, we characterized the endophytic fungal communities associated with Copaifera langsdorffii and Copaifera pubiflora and investigated their ability to produce antimicrobial agents. We obtained 668 fungal isolates from the leaves, stems, and seeds of both plants, which were later classified into 64 taxa and 22 genera. Diaporthe sp. 6, Xylariaceae sp. 1, Diaporthales sp. 1, and Diaporthales sp. 2 were the most abundant taxa in C. langsdorffii, while Phyllosticta sp., Diaporthe sp. 7, Diaporthales sp. 3, and Diaporthe miriciae were the most abundant taxa in C. pubiflora. Diaporthe sp. 4, Phyllosticta sp., Diaporthe sp. 1, Diaporthe sp. 7, and Neopestalotiopsis sp. were the only taxa common between the two plants. Both plants were found to have high fungal diversity, especially C. langsdorffii. Six extracts displayed antibacterial, being Alternaria sp., Diaporthe sp. 1, D. miriciae, and Diaporthe sp. 14. Our results showed that different tissues of the ethnomedicinal plants C. langsdorffii and C. pubiflora are systematically colonized by rich and diverse endophytic fungal communities, and that some of the fungi are able to produce antimicrobial compounds, which may be explored in further studies as potential candidates for the development of new drugs. (C) 2021 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.