Isolation, Cultivation and In Planta Visualization of Bacterial Endophytes in Hanging Roots of Banyan Tree (Ficus bengalensis)

Abstract

Microbial endophytes are able to colonize internal tissues of plant without causing harm to the host. Historically, microbial endophytes have been thought to be weakly virulent plant pathogens, but now they have been recently discovered to have several beneficial effects on the host plants, such as plant growth promotion by producing phyto-hormone, and increasing resistance against the plant pathogens and parasites. These are a poorly investigated group of microorganisms that represent an abundant, dependable source of biologically important and chemically novel bioactive compounds with a potential for exploitation in the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields. The use of microbial endophytic flora opens up a new arena of biotechnological exploitation which drives the necessity to understand the endophytic flora, their existence, and their response to the environment in which they exist. To better understand the endophytes it is necessary to isolate and cultivate these microorganisms. This chapter provides the complete protocol for isolation, cultivation and in situ localization of Banyan endophytic flora by light and electron microscopy.