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We isolated the dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi from roots of typical plant species in the tundra of Changbai Mountains Nature Reserve, including Rhododendron aureum , R. conferentiatum , Vaccinium uliginosum , and Dryas octopetala , and studied their colonization. We further investigated the DSE community composition and species diversity of the four tundra plant species by using morphological characteristics combined with rDNA ITS sequence analysis. The results showed that DSE formed a typical structure of "microsclerotia" in roots of the four plant species. A total of 69 strains of DSE fungi were isolated from the root samples, belonging to 10 genera, and 12 species. They were Phialocephala fortinii , Alternaria alternata , A. tenuissima , Epicocum nigrum , Canariomyces microsporus , Colletotrichum spaethianum , C. camelliae , Leptophoria sp., Cladosporium cladosporioides , Phoma sp., Cadophora sp., and Discosia italica , respectively. The DSE fungal species diversity was rich, and all these fungal species were firstly reported as DSE fungi in the alpine tundra belt of China. Among them, Phialocephala fortinii was the common and dominant species of all tundra plants. The Simpson, Pielou, and Shannon diversity indices of DSE fungi of the four plant species of tundra differed significantly. Our results showed that tundra plants have rich diversity of DSE fungi, and they can form a good symbiotic relationship, which enhance the adaptability of tundra plants to the harsh environment.

A total of 27 endophytic fungal strains were isolated from Huperzia serrata,which were richly distributed in the stems and leaves while less distributed in roots. The 27 strains were identified by Internal Transcribed Spacer( ITS) r DNA molecular method and one of the strains belongs to Basidiomycota phylum,and other 26 stains belong to 26 species,9 general,6 families,5 orders,3 classes of Ascomycota Phylum. The dominant strains were Colletotrichum genus,belonging to Glomerellaceae family,Glomerellales order,Sordariomycetes class,Ascomycota Phylum,with the percentage of 48. 15%. The inhibitory activities of the crude extracts of 27 endophytic fungal strains against acetylcholinesterase( ACh E) and nitric oxide( NO) production were evaluated by Ellman's method and Griess method,respectively. Crude extracts of four fungi exhibited inhibitory activities against ACh E with an IC50 value of 42. 5-62. 4 mg·L~(-1),and some fungi's crude extracts were found to inhibit nitric oxide( NO) production in lipopolysaccharide( LPS)-activated RAW264. 7 macrophage cells with an IC50 value of 2. 2-51. 3 mg·L~(-1),which indicated that these fungi had potential anti-inflammatory activities.The chemical composition of the Et OAc extract of endophytic fungus HS21 was also analyzed by LCMS-IT-TOF. Seventeen compounds including six polyketides,four diphenyl ether derivatives and seven meroterpenoids were putatively identified.

This study aims at making full use of microbial resources, and screening the active endophytic fungi of anti-rheumatoid arthritis from Zanthoxylum simulans. The endophytic fungi were cultured and isolated by tissue culture and scribing method, and the active strain of inhibiting the proliferation of human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (HFLS-RA) was screened by MTT method. Morphological characteristics and rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences were applied for the taxonomy of endophytic fungi. Strains were isolated from Z. simulans. Among them, MK-05, MK-17, MK-19, MK-23 having inhibiting activity to HFLS-RA, the IC₅₀ were 0.367, 0.775, 0.689, 0.757 g·L⁻¹, respectively. By classic morphologic classification and sequencing the PCR-amplified rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 regions, four effective strains were identified as Botryosphaeria dothidea, Phomopsis sp., P. liquidambari and Diaporthe perseae. The active endophyic fungi that inhibited the proliferation of HFLS-RA were screened from Z. simulans for the first time, and the results lay the foundation for the development and utilization of the Z. simulans resources., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Objective: We studied the biological and the epidemiological characteristics of the pathogen of hypertrophy sorosis scleroteniosis, which is a devastating fungal disease of mulberry., Methods: We studied the asexual and sexual reproductive phase stages of C. shiraiana, including the infection ability of hyphal, dormancy of sclerotia, the structures, release, number and germination of ascospores from apothecia, as well as the phenology of sclerotial germination., Results: In C. shiraiana, hyphae had no infection ability toward the female flowers of mulberry. Sclerotia of C. shiraiana must undergo cold treatment above 6 weeks, then the dormancy-breaking sclerotia could germinate to apothecia. One to fifteen apothecia were germinated from one sclerotium, and the number of ascospores in a 1.5 cm diameter apothecia could contain up to (5.6-6.3)×107. Ascospore C. shiraiana had significantly higher germination rates in acid than in neutral and alkaline environments. From late January to middle April, sclerotia germinated to apothecia, and got the highest value in the middle of March., Conclusion: C. shiraiana is a formidable pathogen to cause epidemic disease and damage in mulberry.

Objective: To explore the genome sequence of Aureobasidium pullulans CCTCC M2012223, analyze the key genes related to the biosynthesis of important metabolites, and provide genetic background for metabolic engineering., Methods: Complete genome of A. pullulans CCTCC M2012223 was sequenced by Illumina HiSeq high throughput sequencing platform. Then, fragment assembly, gene prediction, functional annotation, and GO/COG cluster were analyzed in comparison with those of other five A. pullulans varieties., Results: The complete genome sequence of A. pullulans CCTCC M2012223 was 30756831 bp with an average GC content of 47.49%, and 9452 genes were successfully predicted. Genome-wide analysis showed that A. pullulans CCTCC M2012223 had the biggest genome assembly size. Protein sequences involved in the pullulan and polymalic acid pathway were highly conservative in all of six A. pullulans varieties. Although both A. pullulans CCTCC M2012223 and A. pullulans var. melanogenum have a close affinity, some point mutation and inserts were occurred in protein sequences involved in melanin biosynthesis., Conclusion: Genome information of A. pullulans CCTCC M2012223 was annotated and genes involved in melanin, pullulan and polymalic acid pathway were compared, which would provide a theoretical basis for genetic modification of metabolic pathway in A. pullulans.

Endophytic fungi play an important ecological role in promoting growth and alleviating environmental stress of host plants. In this study, we investigated the diversity and community composition of endophytic fungi isolated from the common reed in wetlands of the Yellow River Delta. A total of 318 endophytic fungal isolates were obtained from 1350 tissue (leaf, stem, and root) fragments and from three tidal zones with different soil salinity levels. rDNA ITS regions of these isolates were PCR amplified, sequenced, and phylogenetically analyzed. All the sequences were divided into 12 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the 98% similarity threshold. Ascomycota was found to be the most abundant flora at the level of the phylum and distributed in all tissues and sites. There were generally richer OTUs in roots than in leaves and stems, and leaves and stems shared the same OTU numbers. All the OTUs retrieved from leaves appeared in roots. The supra tide (low salinity zone) had the most OTUs among the three sampling sites, followed by high tide. Furthermore, the roots had the highest richness and diversity, whereas the leaves had the lowest; supra tide held the highest richness, and the middle tide had the highest diversity. Although unique OTUs could be found in different tissues and tidal zones of different salinity, the communities of culturable endophytic fungi were not substantially different among tissues or tidal zones (ANOSIM, P>0.05). Alternaria sp. was the shared dominant taxa among all samples.

Objective: To identify the pathogens causing root rot disease on Ligusticum chuanxiong from the main producing areas in Sichuan, and to provide gist of management of this disease in the future., Methods: The diseased rhizomes of Ligusticurn chuanxiong with root rot symptom were sampled in two main producing areas in Sichuan. According to Koch's postulate, the pathogenicity on Ligusticum chuanxiong rhizomes of the isolates was confirmed. The representative isolates were identified based on their morphological characteristics and ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer(rDNA-ITS) sequences., Results: The isolates(f2-16, 3-2, f4-19 and f5-7)which caused root rot disease held high homology reached 99%, 99%, 100% and 100% respectively, when compared with GenBank sequences GQ229075, JQ796755, JN232136 and FJ481024., Conclusion: The causing agents of root rot disease on Ligusticum chuanxiong belong to Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Plectosphaerella cucumerina and Phoma glomerata. Pathogens from different regions are varied.