The seed endosphere of Anadenanthera colubrina is inhabited by a complex microbiota, including Methylobacterium spp. and Staphylococcus spp. with potential plant-growth promoting activities

Background and aims: Plant seeds are emerging micro–habitats, whose importance as reservoir and vector of beneficial microbes just begins to be recognized. Here we aimed to characterize the bacterial microbiota of the Anadenanthera colubrina seed endosphere, with special focus to beneficial traits and to the colonization pattern. Methods: Cultivation–dependent (isolation from surface–sterilized seeds) and cultivation–independent (pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene from metagenomic seed DNA) analyses, functional tests and microscopical investigations (fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled with confocal laser scanning microscopy (FISH-CLSM) were performed. Results: We isolated several Methy…