“Fungal Biodiversity of Endophytic Fungi from Asparagus Racemosus and Its Molecular Characterization”

Abstract

Asparagus racemosus, commonly known as ‘Shatavari,’ is a medicinally significant plant renowned for its diverse phytochemical composition and extensive therapeutic applications. The shatavari plant is a rich repository for innumerable phytochemicals which are attributed to its vast medicinal properties Keeping in mind the vast application of endophytic metabolites, this study focused on isolating and characterizing fungal endophytes from the root, shoot, and leaf of A. racemosus. A total of 20 fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaf, 5 from the stem, and 6 from the root. These isolates were identified through morphological and molecular characterization, revealing their identity to genera such as Aspergillus, Fusarium, Alternaria, Mucor, and Candida. Among the isolates Alternaria and Mucor species were reported as endophytes of A. racemosus for the first time in this study