ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the taxonomic structure and diversity of endophytic fungi from <italic>Datura metel </italic>and screen the strains with anti-dermatophyte activities， so as to provide resources for the development of new lead compounds against dermatomycosis. Method:Endophytic fungi were isolated from the roots， stems and leaves of <italic>D. metel</italic> after tissue block incubation and then identified by morphological analysis and rDNA-internal transcribed spacer（ITS） sequencing. Their anti-dermatophyte activities were detected by agar diffusion assay. Result:A total of 292 strains of endophytic fungi were isolated from <italic>D. metel</italic>， belonging to 34 genera， with<italic> Fusarium</italic> （72.97%） in roots， <italic>Fusarium </italic>（37.25%） and <italic>Plectosphaerella </italic>（28.43%） in stems， and <italic>Colletotrichum </italic>（39.66%） in leaves as the dominant species. The isolation rate （89.23%）， colonization rate （84.62%）， and diversity index （1.82） of endophytic fungi in leaves were significantly higher than those in roots （70.48%， 70.48% and 1.23） and stems （69.39%，68.03% and 1.64）. The determination of anti-dermatophyte activities of 35 endophytic fungal fermented filtrates showed that the strains exhibiting inhibitory activities against <italic>Microsporum canis</italic>， <italic>Trichosporon mucoides</italic>， <italic>Trichophyton rubrum</italic> and <italic>Candida albicans </italic>accounted for 97.14%， 71.43%， 45.71%， and 25.71%， respectively. Among them， six strains （17.14%）， namely <italic>Fusarium </italic>sp. R1， <italic>Penicillium </italic>sp. R5， <italic>Aspergillus </italic>sp. R7， <italic>Metarhizium </italic>sp.<italic> </italic>S18， <italic>Diaporthe </italic>sp. S19， and <italic>Glomerella </italic>sp.<italic> </italic>L57， all inhibited the four types of cutaneous fungal pathogens. Conclusion:The endophytic fungi in <italic>D. metel</italic> are diverse， and the proportion of endophytic fungi possessing anti-dermatophyte activities is high， allowing them to serve as potential resources for the development of new anti-dermatophyte agents.