Screening and Identifying Endophytic Fungi from Single-clump Tea Plants

Endophytic fungi antagonistic against the selected bacteria and phytopathogens were first screened from the microbial samples collected from the single-clump tea plants using the double-plate and the flat-stand methods. Then, they were identified by their morphologies and 18SrDNA sequences. Three strains of the fungi, i.e., F15GEN, F15Ye, and LB35JING, were isolated. The diameter of the inhibition zone of F15GEN against Staphylococcus aureus was 13.36 mm, and that of F15YE against Bacillus subtilis 14.92 mm. In addition, LB35JING and F15GEN showed inhibition activities against Rhizoctonia solani and Valsa ambiens Pers, F15YE against Sphaerulina juglandis, and LB35JING against Fusarium. The 18S rDNA sequence of F15GEN identified it as Penicillium decumbens, while those of F15YE and LB35JING linked them to Penicillium sp.