Isolation of Endophytic Fungi in Teaplant(Camellia sinensis) and Their Distribution Patterns in Different Tissues

Endophytic fungi are the common inhabitant in plants.In order to evaluate endophyte biodiversity and its potential effects on host plants,we isolated endophytic fungi in different tissues of tea(Camellia sinensis)trees. Results showed that endophytic fungi inhabited in different tissues of tea except the petal.More fungi were isolated in leaves and shoots;the isolation frequency was from 93.88% to 100% in old leaves.A total of 553 fungal iso- lates were isolated from 994 segments of different tissues of tea tree.The results also indicated that several different fungus species could be isolated from a single leaf of tea trees.So tea plant leaves harbour a complex assemblage of endophytic fungi.Some endophytic fungi were isolated more frequently from mature leaves and shoots than from leaf buds and roots,while some endophytic bacteria were distributed more frequently in leaf buds.It was suggested that host tissue-specific chemistry might influence the distribution patterns of endophytes.