Sustainable production of biomass for bioenergy relies on low-input crop production. Inoculation of bioenergy crops with plant growth-promoting endophytes has the potential to reduce fertilizer inputs through the enhancement of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). Endophytes isolated from native poplar growing in nutrient-poor conditions were selected for a series of glasshouse and field trials ...

This study was undertaken to assess if the root-associated native bacterial endophytes in tomato have any bearing in governing the host resistance to the wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Internal colonization of roots by bacterial endophytes was confirmed through confocal imaging after SYTO-9 staining. Endophytes were isolated from surface-sterilized roots of 4-weeks-old seedlings of known...

Thlaspi goesingense is able to hyperaccumulate extremely high concentrations of Ni when grown in ultramafic soils. Recently it has been shown that rhizosphere bacteria may increase the heavy metal concentrations in hyperaccumulator plants significantly, whereas the role of endophytes has not been investigated yet. In this study the rhizosphere and shoot-associated (endophytic) bacteria colonizi...

Although associated with all plants, fungal endophytes (microfungi that live within healthy plant tissues) represent an unknown proportion of fungal diversity. While there is a growing appreciation of their ecological importance and human uses, little is known about their host specificity, geographic structure, or phylogenetic relationships. We surveyed endophytic Ascomycota from healthy photos...

Polyploidy and symbiotic Epichloë fungal endophytes are common and heritable characteristics that can facilitate environmental range expansion in grasses. Here we examined geographic patterns of polyploidy and the frequency of fungal endophyte colonized plants in 29 Festuca rubra L. populations from eight geographic sites across latitudes from Spain to northernmost Finland and Greenland. Ploidy...

Tropical and subtropical plants are rich in endophytic community diversity. Endophytes, mainly fungi and bacteria, inhabit the healthy plant tissues without causing any damage to the hosts. These fungi can be useful for biological control of pathogens and plant growth promotion. Some plants of the genus Piper are hosts of endophytic microorganisms; however, there is little information abou...

Through a culture-based survey of living sapwood and leaves of rubber trees (Hevea spp.) in remote forests of Peru, we discovered a new major lineage of Ascomycota, equivalent to a class rank. Multilocus phylogenetic analyses reveal that this new lineage originated during the radiation of the 'Leotiomyceta', which resulted not only in the evolution of the Arthoniomycetes, Dothideomycetes, Eurot...

Control of fungal pathogens is mainly addressed by chemically synthesized fungicides which, after a prolonged use, produce environment pollution and develop resistance. In this context, endophytes have been recognized as potential biocontrolers and also potential source of antifungal metabolites. Therefore, as part of our research on phytopathogen controllers, 355 fungal endophytes were isolate...

The aim of this study was to explore the diversity of culturable bacterial communities residing in blackberry plants (Rubus fruticosus). Bacterial endophytes were isolated from plant roots, and their 16S rDNA sequences were amplified and sequenced. Our results show that the roots of R. fruticosus exhibit low colony forming units of bacterial endophytes per gram of fresh tissue (6 x 102 ± 0.5 x ...