Vol. 12, Issue 10 (2023)

Author(s):
Samuel Peter, Surya Mary Irudhaya Raj, Priyavarthini Shanmugam and Tamilarasi Palani, Gnanam Ramasamy, Kavitha Chinnasamy and Meenakshisundaram Palaniappan

Abstract:
During plant tissue culture, if any bacterial or fungal colonies are observed, they are regarded as ‘contaminants’ and immediately, the bottles with contaminants are discarded to control their spread. It should be noted that plants are in symbiotic associations with both epiphytic and endophytic bacteria. During tissue culture, endophytic microbes are observed 2-3 weeks after inoculation, around the explants in media without antibiotics. In the present study, we observed growth of endophytes around the banana explants. Three endophytic bacterial colonies were isolated, purified and evaluated for growth promoting activities. Among the three isolates, Banana Isolate 3 has been found to exhibit IAA production capabilities as well as better root growth promoting abilities. This isolate could, after identification and further characterization, could be used for developing a growth promoting microbial consortium.