Diversity of Endophytic and Pathogenic Fungi of Saffron (Crocus sativus) Plants from Cultivation Sites in Italy

Crocus sativus is an important crop for the production of saffron and bioactive compounds.Plant endophytic fungi are a source of secondary metabolites additional to those produced by theplant itself. We analysed the biodiversity of endophytic fungi present in corms, stems, leaves, tepals,and stigmas of C. sativus from ten Italian sites; furthermore, we isolated putative pathogenic fungifrom rotten plants. We used an in vitro isolation approach followed by molecular analysis of theinternal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) region. We obtained 165 strains belonging to 39 OTUs,spreading over 26 genera and 29 species. Dark septate endophytes of the genus Cadophora andthe species Talaromyces pinophilus dominated in corms, while Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum spp.,T. pinophilus, Mucor fragilis, and Stemphylium vesicarium dominated in other tissues. The mostfrequently isolated pathogens were Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus oryzae. Endophytic communitiessignificantly differed among tissues and life stages, whereas differences among cultivation sites werenot statistically supported. Several endophytes were hypothesized to have changing trophic modesand/or to be latent pathogens in C. sativus. All strains were conserved ex-situ for future bioactivitytests and production of metabolites.