TITTLE PAGE    ………………………………………..…………...….     i

CERTIFIFICATION     ………………..…………………...………..….     ii

DEDICATION     ……………………………………………...……..…     iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT    ……………………………………….…...     iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS    ……………………………………………..     v

Abstract     ……………………………………………………………                    1

CHAPTER ONE

1.0          Introduction           ………………………………….…….....…….     2

CHAPTER TWO

2.0     Literature review          ……………………………………………..…      4

2.1     Common endophytic fungi found in banana plants          ........................       4

2.2The species diversity of fungal endophytes in banana plants          ...       5

2.3     Plant colonization by endophytic fungi          ……………………         6

2.4     Relationship between plant and endophyte          ……………..                   8

2.5     Biological characteristics of endophytic fungal species         …………     10

2.5.1  Tissue colonization and specificity          …………………………..         10

2.5.2  Symbiotic lifestyles          …………………………………..……          10

2.5.3  Transmission and acquisition of endophytic fungi in banana plants         11

2.6     The significance of endophytic fungi in banana stem          …….…        12 

2.7     Mechanisms of action          …………………………………….….          13

2.8     Endophytic fungi interactions          ……………………………….…         14

2.8.1  Interactions with plant pathogenic fungi          ……………………         14

2.8.2  Interactions with bacteria and viruses          …………………………...        16

CHAPTER THREE

3.0     Materials And Method          ………………………………………...         18

3.1     Sterilization of equipments          ………………………………….         18

3.2     Sample collection and treatment          …..…………………....…        18

3.3     Culturing and subculturing          …………………………………..        19

3.4     Determination of antimicrobial activity          ………………….…        19 

3.5     Determination of Species Diversity          …………………………..         20

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0     Results          ……………………………………………………...          21

4.2     Antibiotic susceptibility test          ………………………………….         35

4.3     Determination of Species Diversity          …………………….                  39

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0     Discussion          ……………………………………………………...          40

4.1     Conclusion          ………………………….…………………………..          42

REFERENCES          ……………….……………………………………...      43

The study aimed to determine the endophytic fungi in banana stem in Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria and to determine the antimicrobial activities of the fungal isolates to common human pathogenic bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecalis. The isolated endophytic fungi was surfaced sterilized, cut, placed  on potato dextrose agar and incubated at room temperature for five days and was identified using lactophenol cotton blue staining under microscope. Seven (Fusarium oxysporium and Fusarium verticiloides) isolates belonging to the endophytic group were found from the twenty samples collected for the experiment including other fungi such as Penicillium species, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger and Lasiodiplodia species. The metabolites of the Fusarium species were extracted cutting fungal growth into potato dextrose broth and incubated at room temperature for a week. This finding showed a higher increase of fungi in banana plants but a reduced number of endophytic fungi, the result also showed that the endophytic fungi has no effect on the growth of th bacterial culture.