Seasonality affects the community of endophytic fungi in coconut (Cocos nucifera) crop leaves

ABSTRACT The diversity of endophytic fungi in healthy coconut palm leaves (Cocos nucifera) was assessed by analyzing fungal isolates from three coconut cultivars (yellow dwarf, green dwarf, and a hybrid cultivar PB121) used agriculturally in Brazil. The influence of season (rainy or dry) on the endophytic fungal community was also analyzed. Overall, 318 fungal isolates were obtained from 972 coconut leaf fragments. The rDNA ITS region was sequenced from representative species of the isolated endophytic fungi and the most common species identified were Nigrospora oryzae, Pestalotiopsis sp., and Zasmidium musae. The alpha diversity of the endophytic fungi was also calculated. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination and permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) revealed significant seasonal effects on the composition of the endophyte community. However, practically no influence was observed on the fungal communities for the different cultivars of coconut.