Bacterial endophytes: The endophytic niche, its occupants, and its utility

Endophytic species of bacteria offer an enormous potential for protection and increased agronomic performance of plants. The diversity of bacterial endophytes guarantees that there are endophytes capable of forming compatible association with all agronomically important plants, including monocots and dicots. Fitness of endophytically infected plants is increased both at inter- and intraspecific levels of competition. These bacterial offer the advantages of being sequestered within plants and as long as the plant has a favorable environment to grow, the bacteria contained within it will continue to grow affording the plant continued protection throughout its growth period. The bacteria are endosymbionts, and behave in most instances the relationships are mutualists. The habit is the intercellular spaces of plants, a large area of interconnected spaces that contain high levels of carbohydrates, amino acids, and inorganic nutrients, which serve the purpose of supporting the growth of intercellular bacteria. The intercellular niche is a novel compartment from which the plant can be protected, offering numerous advantages over conventional pesticides. In addition to biocontrol uses, endophytic bacteria offer potential for surrogate transformation of plants resulting in increased nutritional qualities or novel pesticides, as well as the recently emerging use for phytoremediation of soil and water pollutants.