Endophyte: Understanding the Microbes and its Applications

Mining Tamarix ramosissima roots for endophytic growth promoting fungi to improve wheat root growth

Endophytic fungi are commonly found in the root endosphere and can enhance plant growth through various mechanisms. The aim of this study was to isolate cultivable endophytic fungi associated with the roots of Tamarix ramosissima and to evaluate their plant growth promoting properties. About 35 isolated fungal endophytes belonging to the Ascomycota from four different genera were isolated from the endosphere of T. ramosissima: Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium and Talaromyces. These fungal endophytes showed different abilities to solubilize phosphate and produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The fungal isolates of T. allahabadensis (T3) and A. niger (T4) showed different efficiency in solubilizing phosphate. Almost all fungal isolates were able to produce IAA, and the highest value (0.699 μg/ml) was found in the isolate of F. solani (T11). Inoculation of wheat seeds with endophytic fungi significantly increased the initial growth of wheat roots. The results showed that inoculation with the endophytic fungus A. fumigatus T15 significantly increased root length by 75%. The extensive root system of T. ramosissima may be due to symbiosis with IAA-producing endophytic fungi, which enhance root development and water uptake in dry conditions. These fungi can also boost soil phosphorus levels, promoting plant growth.

Diversity of endophytic bacteria isolated from leguminous agroforestry trees in western Kenya

Plants have diverse and vast niches colonized by endophytic microorganisms that promote the wellbeing of host plant. These microbes inhabit internal plant tissues with no signs of ill health. Bacterial endophytes from many plants have been isolated and characterized due to their beneficial roles however their diversity in leguminous plants still remain unexploited. Diversity of bacterial endophytes isolated from Sesbania sesban, Leucaena diversifolia and Calliandra calothyrsus was assessed using morphological and molecular characteristics. A total of 27 pure isolates were recovered from C. Calothyrsus, L. diversifolia and S. sesban constituting 44.4%, 33.3% and 22.2% from the leaves, stems and roots respectively. The isolates differentiated into Gram positive and negative with rods and spherical shapes. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed 8 closely related bacterial genera that consisted of Bacillus (33.3%), Staphylococcus (22.2%), Alcaligens (11.1%), Pantoea (11.1%), Xanthomonas,and Sphingomonas (7.4%) each. Others included Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas at 3.7% each. Bacterial endophytes of genus bacillus were isolated from all the three plants. These results indicate the presence of high diversity of endophytic bacteria associated with the different parts of L. diversifolia, S. sesban and C. salothyrsus growing in western Kenya.

Isolation and Screening of Antagonistic Endophytes against Phytophthora infestans and Preliminary Exploration on Anti-oomycete Mechanism of Bacillus velezensis 6-5

Phytophthora infestans, the notorious pathogen of potato late blight, leads to a severe decline in potato yields and even harvest failure. We isolated 201 endophytic isolates from healthy root tissues of potatoes, among which 41 showed strong antagonistic activity against P. infestans. Further, the tolerance to stress and the potential application against potato late blight of these antagonistic isolates were tested. Most of them were extremely tolerant to stresses such as acid-alkali, temperature, UV, salt, and heavy metal stress. However, some antagonistic isolates with excellent stress tolerance might be pathogenic to potatoes. Combining the screening results, a total of 14 endophytes had excellent comprehensive performance in all the tests. In this paper, the endophyte 6-5 was selected among them for the preliminary exploration of the anti-oomycete mechanism. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence revealed that 6-5 had a high homology to the corresponding sequence of Bacillus velezensis (99.72%) from the NCBI database. Endophyte 6-5 significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of P. infestans, with an inhibition rate of over 90% in vitro assays, and deformed the hyphal phenotype of P. infestans. In addition, endophyte 6-5 could secrete protease and cellulase, and produce antagonistic substances with high thermal stability, which might be helpful to its antagonistic activity against P. infestans. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that 6-5 had the ability to improve the resistance of potato tubers to late blight. In short, our study described the process of isolating and screening endophytes with antagonistic activity against P. infestans from potato roots, and further explored the potential of biocontrol candidate strain 6-5 in potato late blight control.

Endophytic Bacteria Associated with Origanum heracleoticum L. (Lamiaceae) Seeds

Seed-associated microbiota are believed to play a crucial role in seed germination, seedling establishment, and plant growth and fitness stimulation, due to the vertical transmission of a core microbiota from seeds to the next generations. It might be hypothesized that medicinal and aromatic plants could use the seeds as vectors to vertically transfer beneficial endophytes, providing plants with metabolic pathways that could influence phytochemicals production. Here, we investigated the localization, the structure and the composition of the bacterial endophytic population that resides in Origanum heracleoticum L. seeds. Endocellular bacteria, surrounded by a wall, were localized close to the aleurone layer when using light and transmission electron microscopy. From surface-sterilized seeds, cultivable endophytes were isolated and characterized through RAPD analysis and 16S RNA gene sequencing, which revealed the existence of a high degree of biodiversity at the strain level and the predominance of the genus Pseudomonas. Most of the isolates grew in the presence of six selected antibiotics and were able to inhibit the growth of clinical and environmental strains that belong to the Burkholderia cepacia complex. The endophytes production of antimicrobial compounds could suggest their involvement in plant secondary metabolites production and might pave the way to endophytes exploitation in the pharmaceutical field.

Bacterial community structure of the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) endosphere

Agrochemical applications on farmland aim to enhance crop yield; however, the consequence of biodiversity loss has caused a reduction in ecological functions. The positive endosphere interactions and crop rotation systems may function in restoring a stable ecosystem. Employing culture-independent techniques will help access the total bacteria community in the sunflower endosphere. Limited information is available on the bacteria diversity in sunflower plants cultivated under different agricultural practices. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the endophytic bacterial community structure of sunflower at the growing stage. Plant root and stem samples were sourced from two locations (Itsoseng and Lichtenburg), for DNA extraction and sequenced on the Illumina Miseq platform. The sequence dataset was analyzed using online bioinformatics tools. Saccharibacteria and Acidobacteria were dominant in plant roots, while the stem is dominated by Proteobacteria, Bacteriodetes, and Gemmatimonadetes across the sites. Bacterial genera, Acidovorax, Flavobacterium, Hydrogenophaga, and Burkholderia-Paraburkhoderia were found dominant in the root, while the stem is dominated by Streptomyces. The diverse bacterial community structure at phyla and class levels were significantly different in plant organs across the sites. The influence of soil physical and chemical parameters analyzed was observed to induce bacterial distribution across the sites. This study provides information on the dominant bacteria community structure in sunflowers at the growing stage and their predictive functions, which suggest their future exploration as bioinoculants for improved agricultural yields.

Isolation of Drought-Tolerant Endophyte Bacteria From Local Tomato Plants

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Exploration of drought-tolerant endophytic bacteria is significant to identify bacteria that can provide plant resistance to drought stress. This study aims to obtain the potential of endophytic bacteria to promote plant growth from tomato plants in dry land. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Exploration of endophytic bacteria from healthy tomato plants in a dry and rocky land, Muna Regency, Indonesia. Selection of drought-tolerant endophytic bacteria using polyethylene glycol 6000. Selected isolates were tested to increase the viability of tomato seeds using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). <b>Results:</b> There were 123 isolates of endophytic bacteria isolated from the roots and stems of local tomato plants in a dry and rocky land, Muna Regency, Indonesia. There were 39 (31.70%) isolates sensitive to drought, 55 (44.71%) isolates very sensitive to drought, 8 (6.50%) isolates tolerant to drought and 21 (17.02%) isolates very tolerant to drought. Dryness for the maximum polyethylene glycol concentration at osmotic pressure of -2.00 MPa. Inoculation of endophytic bacteria in local tomato seeds increased the viability and vigour of local tomato seeds compared to the absence of endophytic bacteria. Of the 21 isolates of drought-tolerant endophytic bacteria, there were 12 potential isolates in increasing the viability of local tomato seeds belonging to the <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. and <i>Bacillus</i> sp. bacterial groups. <b>Conclusion:</b> <i>Pseudomonas </i>sp. and Bacillus sp. isolates identified the endophytic bacteria, which can be drought-tolerant and increase tomato seeds' viability.

Screening of endophytic fungal metabolites from Cola nitida leaves for antimicrobial activities against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Endophytic fungi of selected Nigerian plants are important sources of bioactive products with enormous potentials for the discovery of new drug molecules for drug development. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the major causes of healthcare-associated bacterial infections, leading to increased mortality and morbidity. In this study, isolated endophytic fungi from Cola nitida were screened for anti-pseudomonas properties. Endophytic fungi associated with healthy leaves of C. nitida were isolated using standard methods. Fungi were identified through their morphological, cultural and microscopic characteristics. The fungi were subjected to solid-state fermentation and secondary metabolites extracted using ethyl acetate and concentrated under vacuum. The crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity against clinical and laboratory strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar diffusion method. The bioactive components of the fungal extracts were identified using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detector (HPLC-DAD) analysis. Three endophytic fungi; Acremonium sp., Aspergillus sp. and Trichophyton sp. were isolated. At 1 mg/ml, extracts of the three fungi displayed antipseudomonal activity with inhibition zone diameter ranging from 6 - 4 mm. HPLC-DAD analysis revealed the presence of compounds, such as 4-hydroxyphenyl acetate. indole-3-acetic acid, and protocatechuic acid among others in the fungal extracts. The findings in this study reveal that endophytic fungi associated with C. nitida possess promising antipseudomonal properties. This finding can open new doors for the discovery of new agents against P. aeruginosa.