Vol. 8, Issue 1 (2019)

Author(s):
Shruti Shukla̽ and Verinder Wahla

Abstract:
The plant micro-ecosystem has been associated to improved plant productivity, and bacterial endophytes are one of the major constituents of this ecosystem. Endophytic bacteria reside intercellularly within the plant tissues without causing any damage to host plant. Therefore, these bacteria are considered more advantageous for plant survival as protection from environmental stress and microbial competition. Population density of endophytic bacteria is less as compared to epiphytes or rhizospheric bacteria hence isolation of true bacterial endophytes without any contamination is a major challenge. In the current study different surface sterilization methods were conducted to isolate true endophytic bacteria from the roots of Rauvolfia serpentina. Ethanol, sodium hypochlorite, tween 20 and mercuric chloride at various concentrations and duration were employed to optimize the surface sterilization for the isolation of endophytes from Rauvolfia serpentina. Further morphological and biochemical characterization of isolates were carried out. Future studies will determine the potent endophytic bacteria that can be applied for various applications like growth promotion, biological control, and enzyme production