Endophytic bacteria have been found in virtually every plant studied, where they colonize the internal tissues of their host plant and can form a range of different relationships including symbiotic, mutualistic, commensalistic and trophobiotic. Most endophytes appear to originate from the rhizosphere or phyllosphere; however, some may be transmitted through the seed. Endophytic bacteria can promote plant growth and yield and can act as biocontrol agents. Endophytes can also be beneficial to their host by producing a range of natural products that could be harnessed for potential use in medicine, agriculture or industry. In addition, it has been shown that they have the potential to remove soil contaminants by enhancing phytoremediation and may play a role in soil fertility through phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation. There is increasing interest in developing the potential biotechnological applications of endophytes for improving phytoremediation and the sustainable production of nonfood crops for biomass and biofuel production.

The use of plant growth promoting bacterial inoculants as live microbial biofertilizers provides a promising alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Inorganic phosphate solubilization is one of the major mechanisms of plant growth promotion by plant associated bacteria. This involves bacteria releasing organic acids into the soil which solubilize the phosphate complexes converting them into ortho-phosphate which is available for plant up-take and utilization. The study presented here describes the ability of endophytic bacteria to produce gluconic acid (GA), solubilize insoluble phosphate, and stimulate the growth of Pisum sativum L. plants. This study also describes the genetic systems within three of these endophyte strains thought to be responsible for their effective phosphate solubilizing abilities. The results showed that many of the endophytic strains produced GA (14–169 mM) and have moderate to high phosphate solubilization capacities (~400–1300 mg L−1). When inoculated into P. sativum L. plants grown in soil under soluble phosphate limiting conditions, the endophytes that produced medium-high levels of GA displayed beneficial plant growth promotion effects.

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With the exception of nitrogen fixing bacteria, there is little known about the colonisation patterns or population sizes of bacterial endophytes in deciduous trees. This study describes the isolation, identification, construction and re-colonisation patterns of three green fluorescent protein(gfp):kanamycin(R) labelled bacterial endophytes when re-introduced into poplar trees, their original host plant. Two of these endophytes showed considerable colonisation in the roots and stems of inoculated plants. gfp expressing cells of all three strains were observed to colonise the xylem tissue of the root. All three strains proved to be efficient rhizosphere colonisers, supporting the theory that the rhizosphere can serve as a source of bacterial endophytes.

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