Studies on Biodiversity of Fungal Endophytes of Indigenous Monocotaceous and Dicotaceous Plants and Evaluation of their Enzymatic Potentialities

Fungal species that establish an endophytic role inside the tissues of plants are known to produce a wide range of biologically active metabolites and enzymes. In the present study, Endophytic fungi were isolated from the stems and leaves of monocot and dicot plants species collected from Jabalpur region, (M.P.) and were screened for their ability to produce amylase, cellulase, protease, lipase, and laccase activity. Each of endophytic fungal isolates showed a wide range of enzyme activity. Total ninety five fungal strains were isolates from plants and total thirty strains tested for their ability to produce amylase, cellulase, protease, lipase, and laccase activity. The ability to produce these enzymes was distributed amongst the strains tested. The implication of enzyme production in relation to lifestyle abilities of the endophytes is discussed.