Diversity and Characteristics of Endophytic Bacteria Isolated from Peperomia dindygulensis Miq

Statistical classification of colony characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were performed to obtain the information on the quantitative distribution, community composition, and diversity of endophytic bacteria in the roots, stems and leaves of Peperomia dindygulensis Miq. A total of 383 endophytic bacteria were isolated and clustered according to their colony characteristics. After the average linkage clustering, the groups were divided into 19 subgroups at the Euclidean distance of 0 level. The subgroups were phylogenetically classified into 8 genera and 13 species based on their partial 16S rDNA sequences. The quantities of endophytic bacteria in the tissues were in order of leaves > roots > stems; and, the diversity of the bacteria, stems > leaves > roots. The predominant endophytic bacteria in P. dindygulensis Miq were found to belong to the genera of Sphingomonas and Stenotrophomonas.