0000000000727745
AUTHOR
C. Fagorzi
Endophytes from Phragmites australis: their role in phytodepuration
Wastewater treatment is an alarming question and phytodepuration represents an efficient and cost-effective solution. Phragmites australis is generally used for phytodepuration and it excellently removes arsenic, iron and nickel from polluted water. The purification potential of its bacterial endophytic community has never been explored though. G.I.D.A. S.p.a uses P. australis for phytoremediation in a pilot plant, at Calice purifier, which treats the effluent from the Membrane Bioreactor plant. Endophytic bacterial strains were isolated from different P. australis compartments sampled before the activation of the Calice purifier and four additional times during a 18-months period, to analy…
Endophytes from medicinal plants’ seeds: exploring new reservoirs of bioactive molecules
Plant-associated microorganisms have recently gained more attention for their influence on plant health and biotechnological relevance. Bioactive molecules have been already isolated from plant-associated bacteria. Seed-borne bacterial endophytes have not been much explored though. Such endophytes are particularly important, since they can influence germination and be transmitted from generation to generation. Interestingly, seed endophytes from medicinal plants could influence the production of molecules with therapeutic properties. Bacterial endophytic strains were extracted from surface-sterilized seeds of the medicinal plant Echinacea purpurea and their 16S rRNA genes were sequenced. Th…