The diversity and antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi associated with medicinal plant Baccharis trimera (Asteraceae) from the Brazilian savannah.

The fungal endophyte community associated with Baccharis trimera, a Brazilian medicinal plant, was characterized and screened for its ability to present antimicrobial activity. By using molecular methods, we identified and classified the endophytic fungi obtained into 25 different taxa from the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The most abundant species were closely related to Diaporthe phaseolorum, Pestalotiopsis sp. 1, and Preussia pseudominima. The differences observed in endophytic assemblages from different B. trimera specimens might be associated with their crude extract activities. Plants that had higher α-biodiversity were also those that contributed more to the regional (γ) diversity. All fungal isolates were cultured and their crude extracts screened to examine the antimicrobial activities. Twenty-three extracts (12.8%) displayed antimicrobial activities against at least one target microorganism. Among these extracts, those obtained from Epicoccum sp., Pestalotiopsis sp. 1, Cochliobolus lunatus, and Nigrospora sp. presented the best minimum inhibitory concentration values. Our results show that the endophytic fungal community associated with the medicinal plant B. trimera included few dominant bioactive taxa, which may represent sources of compounds with antifungal activity. Additionally, the discovery of these bioactive fungi in association with B. trimera suggests that Brazilian plants used as folk medicine may shelter a rich fungal diversity as well as taxa able to produce bioactive metabolites with antimicrobial activities.