The isolation and antimicrobial testing of fungal species from two different soil environments in the Littoral Region of Cameroon

The isolation and antimicrobial testing of fungal species from two different soil environments in the Littoral Region of Cameroon | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report The isolation and antimicrobial testing of fungal species from two different soil environments in the Littoral Region of Cameroon Fritz Mukow Nsanyi, Joel O. Onoja, Andrew E. Egbe, Fidele Ntie-Kang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9022666/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Research for new antimicrobial compounds is focusing more on fungi found in tropical soils, where these fungi help break down organic matter and recycle nutrients. However, invasive plants like Chromolaena odorata can disrupt these helpful soil fungi communities. This study aims to isolate and identify fungal species and antimicrobial potentials in soils from Chromolaena dominated fallow plots and soil fallow plots void of Chromolaena odorata at two depths (0–5 cm and 5–15 cm) in the Ndoulou Littoral Region of Cameroon. Six representative fungal isolates were obtained, and PCR amplification of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region yielded clear ~ 500–550 bp bands in all cases, confirming high-quality templates ready for Sanger sequencing. BLAST analysis against NCBI GenBank identified the isolates as: Arcopilus cupreus (100% identity), Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (99.64%), Coniochaeta cymbiformispora (94.81%), Aspergillus ardalensis (99.83%), Lividopora vincta (98.96%), and Lividopora benetosta (99.85%). These taxa span a range of ecological roles from saprotrophic decomposers ( Arcopilus , Coniochaeta , Lividopora ) important for litter breakdown in tropical soils, to plant-associated or pathogenic fungi ( Pseudopestalotiopsis ) broadly distributed in tropical ecosystems, and widely adapted soil dwellers ( Aspergillus ). Crude ethyl acetate extracts from the isolates were tested for antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae , Staphylococcus aureus , and Salmonella typhi using the broth microdilution method; no significant inhibition was observed whereas ciprofloxacin exhibited potent efficacy (MIC = 0.0039 µg/mL), confirming assay validity. Results confirm the presence of ecologically significant fungal taxa in Chromolaena -influenced and undisturbed soils, though unrefined extracts lacked antibacterial activity under current conditions. The findings highlight the taxonomic and functional diversity of fungi in Cameroonian fallow soils impacted by invasive plants, underscoring the need for further studies exploring the ecological roles and potential bioactivities of these fungal communities. This research provides a foundation for future bioactivity-guided fractionation and ecological restoration efforts in tropical soils affected by invasives. Soil fungi Antimicrobial activity Chromolaena odorata Fallow lands Ndoulou Cameroon Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9022666","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":622970661,"identity":"33238ebb-ed98-42e9-af9a-635e27ad1504","order_by":0,"name":"Fritz Mukow Nsanyi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Buea","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fritz","middleName":"Mukow","lastName":"Nsanyi","suffix":""},{"id":622970662,"identity":"80867a65-83d9-4f2c-8e1a-4f0ae4a01fa7","order_by":1,"name":"Joel O. 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However, invasive plants like \u003cem\u003eChromolaena odorata\u003c/em\u003e can disrupt these helpful soil fungi communities. This study aims to isolate and identify fungal species and antimicrobial potentials in soils from \u003cem\u003eChromolaena\u003c/em\u003e dominated fallow plots and soil fallow plots void of \u003cem\u003eChromolaena odorata\u003c/em\u003e at two depths (0\u0026ndash;5 cm and 5\u0026ndash;15 cm) in the Ndoulou Littoral Region of Cameroon. Six representative fungal isolates were obtained, and PCR amplification of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region yielded clear\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;500\u0026ndash;550 bp bands in all cases, confirming high-quality templates ready for Sanger sequencing. BLAST analysis against NCBI GenBank identified the isolates as: \u003cem\u003eArcopilus cupreus\u003c/em\u003e (100% identity), \u003cem\u003ePseudopestalotiopsis theae\u003c/em\u003e (99.64%), \u003cem\u003eConiochaeta cymbiformispora\u003c/em\u003e (94.81%), \u003cem\u003eAspergillus ardalensis\u003c/em\u003e (99.83%), \u003cem\u003eLividopora vincta\u003c/em\u003e (98.96%), and \u003cem\u003eLividopora benetosta\u003c/em\u003e (99.85%). These taxa span a range of ecological roles from saprotrophic decomposers (\u003cem\u003eArcopilus\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eConiochaeta\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLividopora\u003c/em\u003e) important for litter breakdown in tropical soils, to plant-associated or pathogenic fungi (\u003cem\u003ePseudopestalotiopsis\u003c/em\u003e) broadly distributed in tropical ecosystems, and widely adapted soil dwellers (\u003cem\u003eAspergillus\u003c/em\u003e). Crude ethyl acetate extracts from the isolates were tested for antibacterial activity against \u003cem\u003eKlebsiella pneumoniae\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eStaphylococcus aureus\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eSalmonella typhi\u003c/em\u003e using the broth microdilution method; no significant inhibition was observed whereas ciprofloxacin exhibited potent efficacy (MIC\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0039 \u0026micro;g/mL), confirming assay validity. Results confirm the presence of ecologically significant fungal taxa in \u003cem\u003eChromolaena\u003c/em\u003e-influenced and undisturbed soils, though unrefined extracts lacked antibacterial activity under current conditions. The findings highlight the taxonomic and functional diversity of fungi in Cameroonian fallow soils impacted by invasive plants, underscoring the need for further studies exploring the ecological roles and potential bioactivities of these fungal communities. This research provides a foundation for future bioactivity-guided fractionation and ecological restoration efforts in tropical soils affected by invasives.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The isolation and antimicrobial testing of fungal species from two different soil environments in the Littoral Region of Cameroon","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-15 09:40:33","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9022666/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bb9e631e-e6c6-4bc2-b202-e908eb38b214","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 15th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-15T09:40:34+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-15 09:40:33","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9022666","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9022666","identity":"rs-9022666","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}