RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Endophytic Fungi (EF) are an underexplored group of microorganisms as only a few plants have been studied with regards to their community. Diversity of EF found in young and old leaves of Enset plant has not been well studied. We analyzed and compared the colonization frequency (CF), richness diversity and fungal communities of the EF inhabiting the young and old leaves of Enset plant from Southern region of Ethiopia. Standard methods were used for isolation and identification of endophytic species from Enset leaves. RESULTS: The study investigates the difference in quantity, in variety, in consistent pattern of community of EF along with different Enset varieties. A total number of 18 samples were analyzed and 108 morphospecies of EF were isolated and distributed among 17 genera. Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. were the most common fungi reported in Enset plant. The largest numbers of EF isolates were observed in Maziya and Arkiya variety and the diversity index and species richness were found to be significant in Enset plant among these varieties. A high number of EF was isolated from old leaves in comparison to young leaves among all the varieties studied. Composition of EF at different altitudinal location also varied within each sites. CONCLUSION: Isolation, characterization and distribution of the EF from Enset plant is the first approach that has been conducted in the developing country like Ethiopia. The findings of the present study show that the Enset agro-forestry system produces potential variability in the colonization, richness diversity and composition of EF in Enset plants. The assemblage of EF in healthy tissues of Enset plants may indicate that some of the fungi are possible latent pathogens and some may become saprophytic.