Bacterial seed endophytes: genera, vertical transmission and interaction with plants

• Published in: Environmental Microbiology Reports
• Main Authors: Truyens, Sascha, Weyens, Nele, Cuypers, Ann, Vangronsveld, Jaco
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Greenland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/18213; https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12181; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1758-2229.12181/epdf

Although the importance of plant-associated microorganisms for plant growth and health was getting more recognition recently, the role of seed-associated microorganisms, and especially seed endophytic bacteria, still is underestimated. Nevertheless, these associations could be beneficial for germination and seedling establishment as seed endophytic bacteria are already present in these very early plant growth stages. Moreover, bacteria with beneficial characteristics can be selected by the plants and could be transferred via the seed to benefit the next generation. In this paper, the current literature concerning bacterial endophytes that have been isolated from seeds of different plant species is reviewed. Their colonization routes, localization inside seeds and mode of transmission as well as their role and fate during germination and seedling development are discussed. At the end, some examples of bacterial seed endophytes with applications as a plant growthpromoting or biocontrol agent are given. This work was funded by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen), PhD grant for S.T. and post-doc grant for N.W. This work has been financially supported by the UHasselt Methusalem project 08M03VGRJ and by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7-KBBE-266124, GREENLAND). We thank Dave Bosmans for his graphical assistance.