Abstract
Phyllospheric bacterial population from medicinal plants viz. Withania somnifera, Lantana camara, Solanum nigrum and Ocimum basilicum was examined. Endo and epiphytic bacteria were isolated on Luria Bertani (L.B.) agar medium from healthy tissues of medicinal plants. Different epiphytic and endophytic bacterial species showed different colonization frequencies. In epiphytic bacterial species, Ensifer ahhaerens had the maximum colonization frequency (67%), followed by Azotobacter chroococcum (54%), Micrococcus lylae (47%) and Kurthia zopfii (31%). While in case of endophytic study, Agromonas oligotrophica (100%), Xanthobacter flavus (75%), Lampropedia hyalina (46%), Microbacterium lacticum (40%), Kurthia zopfii (40%) and Phenylobacterium immobile (31%) showed maximum frequency. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of endophytes and their diversity in medicinal plants is concisely deliberated. Eight species of endophytic bacteria were found to produce antagonistic activity against pathogenic fungi and bacteria by plate assays. Results showed that endophytic bacterial isolates was antagonistic to fungi by agar diffusion method and bacteria by well diffusion technique. In vitro, the antimicrobial role gave fruitful results to open the way for complementary study in order to identify and purify the active compounds. In conclusion, endophytic bacteria from the four medicinal plants have antagonistic potential.
