Enzymology of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Mangrove Trees

This thesis was done to screen the enzyme production ability of endophytic fungi isolated from mangrove trees and also to determine the enzyme activity of the selected fungi. Six species of the mangrove trees were isolated to identify the endophytic fungi; Sonneratia a/ba, Acacia auricu/iformis, Rhizopora apiculata, Xylocarpus granatum, Bruguiera panviplora and Aegiceras cornicu/atum. Twenty one isolates of endophytic fungi were found from the leaves and twigs of these mangrove trees. The fungi growth rate was also observed for eight isolates of endophytic fungi that also were used for the screening test. The screening of extracellular amylase, cellulase and ligninase was done by eight isolates of endophytic fungi by different types of medium test. The clearing zones formed after stained with iodine solution, Congo Red, and aqueous FeCl3 and K, [Fe (CN) 6] showed that the endophytic fungi were able to produce the desirable enzymes. The characterization of amylolytic fungi was done by DNS method to show its levels of enzyme activity. The endophytic fungi were incubated for six days at room temperature in broth media to show whether the activities of amylase enzyme decrease or increase with increasing incubation time. The enzyme activity was expressed in pmol per minute secretion of glucose that were based on the standard glucose curve formation. The highest amylase enzyme activity was obtained by Botrvodiplodia theobroma with 0.00298 pmol/min secretion for six days incubated at room temperature