Three Novel Endophytic Fungi as Potential Candidates Producing Bioactive Metabolites Isolated from Metasequoia glyptostroboides

[Objectives]This study was conducted to isolate and investigate the endophytic fungi with antimicrobial activity from the healthy leaves and bark of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu&W.C.Cheng regarded as an important medicinal plant in China.[Methods]Endophytic fungi with visible antimicrobial activity were isolated from the healthy leaves and bark of M.glyptostroboides,and primarily screened using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as test microorganisms.[Results]Three isolates with relatively higher antimicrobial activity,labeled as MG-01,MG-02,MG-09,were selected for study.Molecular and morphological analysis indicated that the three isolated endophytes belong to Penicillium sp.The ethyl acetate(EtOAc)extracts of the three endophytes were obtained and subjected to the disk diffusion assay,using E.coil,S.aureus,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Enterococcus faecalis,Monilia albicanas,and Bacillus subtilis as test microorganisms.The minimum inhibitory activity(MIC)of the endophyte with relatively highest antimicrobial activity was determined using two-fold broth micro-dilution method.All the endophytes showed a broad spectrum antimicrobial activity.Among the three endophytes,the strain MG-09 exhibited relatively highest antimicrobial activity with the zones of inhibition(ZOI)ranging from 14.15 to 24.07 mm and MIC ranging from 416.67 to 65.11μg/ml.[Conclusions]The endophytic fungi colonized in M.glyptostroboides are capable of producing effective antimicrobial compounds which may be a potential source for drug discovery and biocide production.