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Endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy leaves of the evergreen oak Quercus acuta on Mt Takao in eastern Honshu and on Mt Osuzu in Kyushu, Japan, to study the effect of altitude on endophyte assemblages. Phomopsis sp. 1, Discula sp. and an unidentified species (QA-b) were isolated most frequently. Comparisons of the nucleotide sequence of the rDNA ITS regions of QA-b revealed a close match with species of Tubakia. On Mt Takao, Phomopsis sp. 1 and QA-b were isolated frequently, whereas on Mt Osuzu, Discula sp. and QA-b were dominant. The isolation frequency of QA-b decreased as altitude increased, whereas the isolation frequencies of Phomopsis sp. 1 and Discula sp. increased with altitude. In vitro, QA-b did not grow at temperatures <15°C whereas Phomopsis sp. 1 and Discula sp. still grew at 5°C. These results suggest that Phomopsis sp. 1 and Discula sp. are better adapted to lower temperatures and consequently to higher altitude than QA-b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]