Diversity of endophytic bacteria fromEucalyptusspecies seeds and colonization of seedlings byPantoea agglomerans

Abstract

The diversity and beneficial characteristics of endophytic microorganisms have been studied in several host plants. However, information regarding naturally occurring seed-associated endophytes and vertical transmission among different life-history stages of hosts is limited. Endophytic bacteria were isolated from seeds and seedlings of 10 Eucalyptus species and two hybrids. The results showed that endophytic bacteria, such as Bacillus, Enterococcus, Paenibacillus and Methylobacterium, are vertically transferred from seeds to seedlings. In addition, the endophytic bacterium Pantoea agglomerans was tagged with the gfp gene, inoculated into seeds and further reisolated from seedlings. These results suggested a novel approach to change the profile of the plants, where the bacterium is a delivery vehicle for desired traits. This is the first report of an endophytic bacterial community residing in Eucalyptus seeds and the transmission of these bacteria from seeds to seedlings. The bacterial species reported in this work have been described as providing benefits to host plants. Therefore, we suggest that endophytic bacteria can be transmitted vertically from seeds to seedlings, assuring the support of the bacterial community in the host plant.

Analysis of the Bacterial Diversity Associated with the Roots of Maize (Zea mays L.) through Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Methods

“…It has been previously isolated from the rhizosphere of maize [38] and wheat [39] and has been also found as an endophyte of Eucalyptus, soybean, and Phaseolus vulgaris beans [31,33,40].…”

Sugarcane Growth Promotion by the Endophytic Bacterium Pantoea agglomerans 33.1

“…Pantoea agglomerans 33.1, isolated from Eucalyptus grandis plants (58), and its derivative tagged strain, 33.1::pNKGFP (25), as well as Escherichia coli derivatives were routinely grown at 28°C and 37°C, respectively, on Luria-Bertani (LB) medium (67). The tagged strain 33.1::pNKBOR was obtained according to the methodology described by Ferreira et al (25). All of the strains (Table 1) were stored in 20% glycerol at Ϫ80°C.…”

Eucalyptus growth promotion by endophytic Bacillus spp

“…Many studies have shown evidence of the benefits of endophytic microorganisms in eucalyptus plantlets; for instance, they have been shown to increase the rooting indexes and vegetative biomass or act as biocontrol agents in improving plant resistance when challenged with different pathogens (Mafia et al, 2005;Ferreira et al, 2008;Procópio et al, 2009). The present study involved the isolation of endophytic bacteria from eucalyptus and the evaluation of their potential for root and aerial growth promotion in clonal plantlets of Eucalyptus urograndis.…”