INTRODUCTION

Fungi form different types of relationships with plants, including parasitic, saprophytic, and mutualistic relationships. Endophytic fungi form mutualistic relationship with plants, in which fungi inhabit plant tissues [1]. Unlike pathogenic fungi that cause plant diseases, endophytic fungi do not induce any disease symptoms in plants [2]. In contrast, they help protect plants from pathogens by involving their secondary metabolites [3,4]. Endophytic fungi reside in plant tissues, such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, and there are different endophytic fungal species based on the plant part where they reside [5,6].

Taean-gun, situated on the Taean Peninsula in the West Sea of Korea, features a distinctive rias coast marked by intricate and extensive coastline. The coastal area of Taean has a dune vegetation zone and was designated as Taean Costal National Park due to its significant conservation value. In previous studies, Kim et al. [7] investigated the distribution of higher fungi, and You et al. [8] reported endophytes isolated from the roots of halophytes in Taean-gun. Beyond the coastal environment, the region encompasses a Ramsar Convention wetland and low-height mountains, contributing to its diverse range of environments. Therefore, in this study, unrecorded endophytic fungi species were discovered from tissues of Korean oaks and Japanese cedar inhabit in the coast, wetlands, and forests of Taean-gun. Here, we report the morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of three unrecorded endophytic fungal strains identified during the isolation process.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION