Abstract
BackgroundExploration of biocides in microbial system becomes increasingly interesting. Among the different microbial systems, the study of endophytes becomes an important field of research because of their agricultural as well as pharmaceutical importance. Bacterial endophytes from two medicinal plants from North Easter states of India had been studied for their potential antibacterial and antifungal properties.ResultsBacterial endophytes from two medicinal plant species abundantly available in North Eastern states of India, Chirata (Swertia chirata) and Datura (Datura stramonium), had been isolated and studied for their anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities. Six bacterial endophytes were isolated from Chirata and 5 from Datura. All these bacterial isolates were initially isolated by observing their colony morphology, and then 9 morphologically distinct bacterial isolates were identified at molecular level by their 16s rRNA sequencing. Among the identified isolates, 5 were found to be belonged to genus Staphylococcus, 2 Bacillus, and one each belonged to Rhodococcus and Cupriavidus. Antibacterial study was carried out against 2 plant pathogenic bacteria, viz., Xanthomonas oryzae and Ralstonia solanacearum. Antifungal study was carried out against 2 plant pathogenic fungi, viz., Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani. Out of 6 bacterial isolates from Chirata, one showed antibacterial as well as antifungal properties, and another one showed antifungal properties only. Likewise, out of 5 bacterial isolates from Datura, one found to have both antibacterial and antifungal properties, and another one has only antifungal properties.ConclusionFew bacterial endophytes isolated from S. chirata and D. stramonium L., abundantly available in North Eastern part of India, had potential antibacterial as well as antifungal properties. This could be considered as the baseline information on potential antibacterial and antifungal agents from bacterial endophytes. Further investigations are required to assess their efficacy against several other bacterial and fungal diseases of economic importance.
Highlights
Exploration of biocides in microbial system becomes increasingly interesting
While most of the research has been focused on fungal based production of antimicrobial products, a number of low-molecularweight compounds found to be active at low concentrations against a range of human, animal, and plant pathogenic bacteria have been isolated from bacterial endophytes
Out of the 6 bacterial isolates obtained from Chirata, 2 were from roots, coded as CS1 and CS2, and 4 were from shoots coded as CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS6
Summary
Exploration of biocides in microbial system becomes increasingly interesting. Among the different microbial systems, the study of endophytes becomes an important field of research because of their agricultural as well as pharmaceutical importance. A broad range of synthetic agents are widely used to balance the economic losses caused by pathogens in agriculture. Due to their effect on nature and the health risks, their application on a broader scale has been phasing out (Kim et al 2017). Devi et al Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control (2021) 31:69 utilized for fuel, medicine, and agriculture It is their chemical diversity that sparks profound interest in these microorganisms. Many endophytes are members of common soil bacterial genera, such as Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Bacillus (Lodewyckx et al 2002) These genera are well known for their diverse range of secondary metabolic products including antibiotics, anticancer compounds, volatile organic compounds, antifungal, antiviral, insecticidal, and immunosuppressant agents. One member of the plant-associated fluorescent pseudomonads, P. viridiflava, which was isolated on and within the tissues of many grass species (Miller et al 1998) was found to produce 2 novel antimicrobial compounds called ecomycins
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