Isolation, Molecular Identification and Antimicrobial Assay of Potent Fungus Pencilliopsis Clavariiformis MVRK-1 From Malakayalanka Mangrove Ecosystem of Andhra Pradesh, India

The current study's objective was to isolate, screen, and molecularly characterise a strong fungal strain with antagonistic potential that was found in the mangrove habitat of Malakayalanka on the south coast of Andhra Pradesh, India. Czapek-Dox agar medium was used to isolate mangrove fungi from soil samples that had been collected, shade-dried, and diluted using the plate technique. Totally, 25 fungal strains were isolated, designated as MVRK-1to MVRK-25 and all of them were screened for the production of antimicrobial compounds. Interestingly, the strain MVRK-1 showed broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Identification of the strain was carried out based on its cultural, phenotypic and genomic characteristics. The potent mangrove fungal strain MVRK-1was identified as Pencilliopsis clavariiformis (Genbank accession number: MN583037). The strain MVRK-1 was cultivated in CD broth to examine its growth curve. After solvent extraction with ethyl acetate (1:1 v/v), the residue was examined for antibacterial activity. Both Gram-positive (Bacillus megaterium) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and fungus (Candida albicans) were inhibited by the strain's secondary metabolites. MVRK-1, which was identified as Pencilliopsis clavariiformis MVRK-1 based on its taxonomic research, was discovered to have strong antibacterial properties among the 25 fungal strains evaluated. The current study made it clear that Malakayalanka's mangrove ecology is a good place to screen for strong fungus with wide-spectrum antibacterial activity.