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Title: Acremonium camptosporum isolated as an endophyte of Bursera simaruba from Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Author
item GONZALEZ, MARIA - Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico
item Glenn, Anthony - Tony
item HANLIN, RICHARD - University Of Georgia
item MACIAS-RUBALCAVA, MARTHA - Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico
item HERNANDEZ-BAUTISTA, BLANCA - Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico
item ANAYA, ANA LUISA - Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico

Submitted to: Mycotaxon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/8/2016
Publication Date: 4/29/2016
Citation: Gonzalez, M.C., Glenn, A.E., Hanlin, R.T., Macias-Rubalcava, M.L., Hernandez-Bautista, B.E., Anaya, A. 2016. Acremonium camptosporum isolated as an endophyte of Bursera simaruba from Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Mycotaxon. 131:211-225

Interpretive Summary: The tree Bursera simaruba is prevalent in the forests of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. It is an important plant to the Mayan communities because they use this plant medicinally for treatment of pain, fungal infections, and inflammation. A project was initiated to isolate and identify fungi living within this plant and to determine what metabolites the fungi produce. From this effort an endophytic (“within plant”) fungus we identified as Acremonium camptosporum was isolated from the leaves of B. simaruba. A detailed examination and analysis was conducted to confirm this identity and the evolutionary relationship of the fungus to other plant and insect associated fungi in the family Clavicipitaceae. This is the first report of this species as an endophyte and its first report from Mexico. This Mexican isolate of A. camptosporum was previously found to produce a variety of metabolites, one of which demonstrated antimicrobial activity as well as toxicity to cancer cells.

Technical Abstract: This paper draws on morphological and molecular analyses to determinate the systematic position of an interesting endophytic fungus isolated from the leaves of Bursera simaruba, a tree of semideciduous dry tropical forest at El Eden Ecological Reserve. The cultured strain develops the characteristic morphology of the genus Acremonium, which is often represented by tapered phialides and small, aseptate, conidia clustered in slimy heads. A detailed morphological examination and analysis of sequences from 28S rDNA classified the Yucatan strain as Acremonium camptosporum, an uncommon fungus found previously as a saprobe. A new record of this species is reported and illustrated from México.