Genital samples from pregnant women were examined to determine the Candida species present and how some predisposing factors would affect the frequency of isolation of species. A total of 147 women (87 volunteer asymptomatic pregnant women and 60 asymptomatic nonpregnant women) were examined. High Vaginal Swabs (HVS) were collected in pairs while demographic data (age of individual, age of pregnancy, occupation and use of contraceptive pill) on each subject were obtained alongside. Samples were cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar plates and incubated for 72 hours at 37°C. Results revealed five Candida species (C.albicans, C.glabrata, C.tropicalis, C.stellatoidea, C.parapsilosis) with 61.5, 17.9, 7.7, 5.1, 2.6 % frequency of isolation respectively, as against 73.7, 7.7, 1.4, 11.3, and 0.0% for control. Women in the second trimester of pregnancy had the highest occurrence (68.8%) while the age groups 24-30 and 31-37 years had the highest occurrence in the control (46.2%) and in the pregnant ones (51.7%) respectively. Traders had 68.8%, and full-time housewives, 26.7% occurrence. More women who used contraceptives had Candida (58.3%) as against non contraceptive users (35.3%). The results support literature reports that there are high rates of colonization of the vagina of pregnant women by Candida. They also give credence to earlier reports that the factors determined here affect the frequency of isolation of Candida species from the vagina.

An endophyte is a microorganism, usually bacterium or fungus, which lives within the internal tissue of a host plant, causing no apparent harm. Some characteristics of an endophyte include ability to promote plant growth and to confer plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Endophytic bacteria spread across many phyla including the Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Endophytic bacteria are recruited by hosts and they get attached to the surface and eventually find their way into the internal tissues where they spread to the intercellular spaces of host plants. These bacteria have been isolated and characterized from different plants. Currently, culture-independent methods such as sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene or metalogenomics are used for identification and characterization of endophytes. The mechanisms by which the endophyte-induced plant protection is brought about can be through direct and/or indirect methods. The direct strategy antagonizes phytopathogens by the production of chemical substances while the indirect mechanisms improve resistance of hosts to pathogens. Global gene expression studies on some common endophytic bacteria implicated these direct and indirect strategies of bacterial-induced protection. More research should be geared towards how the economic importance of endophytic bacteria could be utilized to enhance global food security.

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