ENDOPHYTES OF TEA PLANTS FROM DARJEELING, WEST BENGAL

Abstract

A total of 14 bacterial and 6 fungal endophytes were isolated from Tea plant i.e. Camellia sinensis grown in famous Tea garden Happy valley, Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India. Endophytes are a group of microorganisms that grow within the tissue of higher plants and colonize them without causing any noticeable injury to the host. Both bacteria and fungi are considered as endophytes. Endophytes represent a potential hub of novel bioactive compounds such as antibiotics, anticancer, and other biological control agents. The bacterial population showed a high level of growth hormone production namely auxin and gibberellins to the level ranging from 160 to 300 μg/ml and 172 to 383 μg/ml respectively. None of the strains were found to solubilize phosphorus and fix nitrogen. The bacterial population also showed antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic strains such as Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholera, Klebsiella sp. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Burkholderia sepsia. Most of the fungal genera showed amylolytic and proteolytic activity. Thus, the study suggests that these microbes have huge potential to synthesis of numerous novel compounds that can be explored in pharmaceutical, agricultural and other industries.