Isolation and molecular identification of dominant fungal endophytes from green leaves of physic nut (Jatropha curcas) from unilorin plantation, Ilorin, Nigeria

Jatropha curcas is an important crop grown in the plantations of the University of Ilorin for research and commercialization. J. curcas has been reported to have high tolerance for stress, pests and diseases. Different parts of Jatropha are utilised for various uses both domestically and medicinally, thus, this study was carried out to unravel the dominant endophytic fungi associated with green leaves of J. curcas in the said plantation. The dominant fungi were isolated and characterized using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA. Green leaves of J. curcas were collected and processed for isolation of endophytic fungi using water agar. The putative endophytic fungi from J. curcas were identified using morphological and molecular methods as Curvularia geniculata and Phyllosticta capitalensis. The results of this study will be an addition to the fungal endophytes identified on J. curcas and a potential source of secondary metabolite production. This study constitutes, to the authors’ knowledge, the first report of C. geniculata and P. capitalensis as endophytes in J. curcas leaves, in Nigeria.