Antifungal activities of fungi isolated from dead insects

Fungi have commensalism relationship with insects which fungi will acquire nutrient from insect gut contents without causing harm to the host therefore make dead insects is suitable place for the fungi togrow. Fungi sporulate outside of the insects in moist condition meanwhile inside insects in d dry environment. Hence, this study was conducted to isolate fungi from dead insects collected University Malaysia Kelantan Jeli Campus and determination of their morphological characteristics. Besides that, this study also investigates the antifungal activities of the isolated fungi. The insects were collected and kept to dry inside plastics bag and soak into sodium hypochlorite solution, sterile distilled water and saline solution. 0.2 ml of saline solution then was inoculated onto Sabouraud agar supplemented with chloramphenicol. Then subculturing fungi from isolation plates is done by using hyphal tipping technique and morphological characteristics were observed. Slant media is prepared in order to preserve the fungal isolated. Lastly, Antifungal assay of isolate fungal against Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani and Rhizopus stolonifer is examine by agar plug technique. A total of 39 dead insects from 7 orders were collected and 15 fungal cultures were isolated and their morphological characteristics were identified. Antifungal assay of 9 isolate fungal were against test organism show that there is inhibition zones observed on fungal isolate 7 and fungal isolate 8 against R. stolonifer which are 57 mm and 93 mm respectively. This study demonstrated that dead fungi are a carrier for fungal spores and ability of fungus to inhibit others fungus.