In: Sydowia 75, (2023): 119-127; ISSN 0082-0598, DOI 10.12905/0380.sydowia75-2022-0119, Published online on December 13, 2022

Investigation of the presence of endofungal bacteria in Zygomycetes isolated from soil samples

Ozlem Abaci Gunyar, Derya Birol*, Bengi Aldi & Alev Haliki Uztan

Basic and Industrial Microbiology Section, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ege University
* e-mail: derya.ege.219@gmail.com

Gunyar O.A., Birol D., Aldi B. & Uztan A.H. (2022) Investigation of the presence of endofungal bacteria in Zygomycetes isolated
from soil samples. – Sydowia 75: 119–127.
Abstract: The dynamic interactions between fungi and bacteria that coexist by creating complex communities are important
for agriculture and human health. In our study, it was aimed to identify the endofungal bacteria in the hyphae of some Zygomycetes,
which are especially common as plant pathogens in the agricultural lands of I?
zmir provincial districts. For this aim, 237
Zygomycetes were isolated from soil samples taken from 237 different agricultural areas. The presence of endofungal bacteria in
all fungal isolates was investigated by fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with ribosomal
RNA targeted oligonucleotide probes. Twenty Zygomycete isolates, in which we observed bacterial cells in the fungal hyphae
with fluorescence microscopy and subsequently performed endofungal bacteria isolation, were identified pheno- and genotypically.
Molecular identification of the endofungal bacteria was conducted by analysis of the sequences obtained after the total
DNA amplification with primers specific for 16S rRNA gene regions belonging to the fungal metagenome. Alcaligenes faecalis
(11), Bacillus circulans (1), Bacillus thuringiensis (3), Bacillus cereus (1), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2), Leucobacter aridicolis (1)
and Serratia marcescens (1) were identified as endofungal bacterial species. The first endofungal presence of Alcaligenes faecalis,
Bacillus circulans, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus cereus and Leucobacter aridicolis species is reported.

Key words: Bacterial-fungal interaction, Rhizopus spp.