Antimicrobial Potential of Endophytic Fungi Derived from Three Seagrass Species Cymodocea serrulata, Halophila ovalis and Thalassia hemprichii.docVIP

Antimicrobial Potential of Endophytic Fungi Derived from Three Seagrass Species: Cymodocea serrulata, Halophila ovalis and Thalassia hemprichii Preuttiporn Supaphon , Souwalak Phongpaichit , Vatcharin Rukachaisirikul , Jariya Sakayaroj 1 1* 2 3 1 Department of Microbiology and Natural Products Research Center of Excellence, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 2 Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 3 National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Klong Luang, Pathumthani, Thailand Abstract Endophytic fungi from three commonly found seagrasses in southern Thailand were explored for their ability to produce antimicrobial metabolites. One hundred and sixty endophytic fungi derived from Cymodocea serrulata (Family Cymodoceaceae), Halophila ovalis and Thalassia hemprichii (Family Hydrocharitaceae) were screened for production of antimicrobial compounds by a colorimetric broth microdilution test against ten human pathogenic microorganisms including Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, a clinical isolate of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, Escherichia coli ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Candida albicans ATCC 90028 and NCPF 3153, Cryptococcus neoformans ATCC 90112 and ATCC 90113 and clinical isolates of Microsporum gypseum and Penicillium marneffei. Sixty-nine percent of the isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one test strain. Antifungal activity was more pronounced than antibacterial activity. Among the active fungi, seven isolates including Hypocreales sp. PSU-ES26 from C. serrulata, Trichoderma