Enumeration of Endophytic Fungi in Irvingia gabonensis from Oban Division of The Cross River National Park, Nigeria

Endophhytic fungi in Irvingia gabonensis (Aubrey-Lecomte ex O. Rorke) Baill growing at Akamkpa and Oban, Cross River National Park, Nigeria were studied. Barks and leaves of the plant were collected in the months of February - March and June - September, 2019 for the dry and wet seasons sampling respectively. 384 pieces of barks and leaves of the plant were cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA). A total of 228 isolates belonging to 11 species of endophytic fungi; Hyphomycetes 10 and Zygomycetes 1 was isolated. The colonisation frequency of the leaves was 64.58% for both Akamkpa and Oban, while that of the bark was 48.96% and 59.38% for Akamkpa and Oban respectively. Acremonium sp colonized both bark and leaves more in the wet season in both locations. The presence of Acremonium spp in bark was lower when compared with their level in leaves especially in Akamkpa which was similar (P<0.05) to the level obtained in the wet season. Verticillium sp colonized only leaves in both locations but could not record any tangible (P<0.05) presence in bark in both locations. Rhizopus stolonifer colonized the bark of the plant highest in the wet season in Akamkpa. This was significantly (P<0.05) higher than those in both seasons in Oban and wet season on leaves in Oban. Geotrichum candidum could only colonize the bark significantly (P<0.05) in the wet season in Oban. Its presence during dry season was lower but not significantly (P>0.05) below the values obtained during the wet season in the same location. Simpson’s diversity index seemed high between 0.7567 and 0.8371. The ecological indices seem to suggest that I. gabonensis supports a diverse endophytic fungi assemblage in both locations.

Author(s): Ndibukke E.O, Chukunda F.A., Ukoima N.H

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