Replication Data for Fungal endophytes colonizing Cornus florida

A total of 379 endophytic fungi were isolated from stem tissue of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) and identified using internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence analysis. All isolates belonged to phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, and were distributed over 5 orders and 11 genera. Diversity of the fungi included several species associated with leaf spots, blight, cankers, and/or dieback diseases. Pathogenicity tests showed that some fungal endophyte were pathogenic on C. florida and and some endophytes possess the capacity to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes (cellulase, amylase, pectinase, laccase, chitinase, and protease) that are known to function in tissue penetration, plant colonization, nutrient acquisition, and disease suppression in both plant pathogens and endophytes.