Isolation and identification of growth promoting endophytic fungi from Artemisia annua L. and its effects on artemisinin content

K E Y W O R D S © 2017 Islamic Azad University, Shahrood Branch Press, All rights reserved. ISSN: 2588-3631 (Online) ISSN: 2588-3623 (Print) Trends in Phytochemical Research (TPR) Volume 1 Issue 4 December 2017 Isolation and identification of growth promoting endophytic fungi from Artemisia annua L. and its effects on artemisinin content Mir Abid Hussain1^, Vidushi Mahajan1,2^, Irshad Ahmad Rather1, Praveen Awasthi1, Rekha Chouhan1, Prabhu Dutt1, Yash Pal Sharma3, Yashbir S. Bedi1,2 and Sumit G. Gandhi1,2, 1Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Canal Road, Jammu-180001, India 2Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, Anusandhan Bhawan, 2 Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110 001, India 3Post Graduate Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone, is a well-known antimalarial drug isolated from Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae). Semi-synthetic derivatives of artemisinin like arteether, artemether, artesunate, etc. have also been explored for antimalarial as well as other pharmacological activities. Endophytes are microorganisms which reside inside the living tissues of host plants and can form symbiotic, parasitic or commensalistic relationship depending on the climatic conditions and host genotype. In this study, endophytic fungi were isolated from the leaves of A. annua and were identified using the conventional as well as molecular taxonomic methods. Endophytes were identified as: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Cochliobolus lunatus, Curvularia pallescens and Acremonium persicum. Growth promoting activity of endophytes has been reported earlier. After treating potted plants of A. annua with elicitor extracts prepared from these endophytic fungi, we observed an increase in the plant biomass as well as artemisinin content. Received: 03 July 2017 Revised: 31 August 2017 Accepted: 11 October 2017 ePublished: 09 December 2017 Acremonium persicum Cochliobolus lunatus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Curvularia pallescens Elicitor Corresponding author: Sumit G. Gandhi; ^Contributed equally Tel: +91-191-2585006-013 ext 359; Fax: +91-191-2586333 E-mail address: sumit@iiim.ac.in; sumitgandhi@gmail.com