ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants
Studies on Seed-Borne Fungi, Aspergillus Diversity, and Their Detection Using Beta-Tubulin Gene Sequences in Foeniculum vulgare Seeds in India
1. Radha Govind University, Ramgarh, India
2. Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
The presence of fungi in seeds has a negative impact on germination and quality, which eventually leads to fungal deterioration and economic losses. This research inquired into the variety of fungi that were isolated from Foeniculum vulgare seeds (seventy samples) collected from different regions of India, namely Delhi, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. In order to identify the fungal genera, protocols outlined by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) (1980) procedures were adopted, and mycological media like, Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) was used for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Twenty-five fungal species that belonging to eleven different genera were isolated. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Mucor sp., Mycelia sterilia, Penicillium sp. and Yeast, were the most common types of fungi that were encountered in the present study. This is the first report of five Aspergillus spp., being isolated and documented from F. vulgare. One of the most significant contaminants, A. flavus was frequently isolated, with a toxigenic potential. The other types of fungi that are being reported, include Fusarium oxysporum, F. verticillioides, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia sp., and Trichothecium sp. Macromorphological and Micromorphological analyses were carried out after incubation at 25ºC for seven days. Based on the outcome of the present mycological study, F. vulgare seeds contain an array of fungal contaminants, which have a potential effect on the health and viability of the seeds. In addition, they pose a serious threat to consumers because of their ability to produce mycotoxins.
Summary
Keywords
Aspergillus species, diversity, Foeniculum vulgare, fungal contamination, Fungal diversity, Fungi, Seed-borne fungi
Received
07 January 2026
Accepted
22 May 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Mahata, Dass, Lokanadhan and Thorat. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Regina Sharmila Dass
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.