Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology) / Endophytic bacteria are known to have an endosymbiotic relationship with plants and
provide them with many beneficial properties. These bacteria stimulate plant hormones,
provide protection from pathogens and increase nutrient availability in the environment.
In this study some of these potential growth factors were tested.
Endophytic bacteria have the potential to be of great value for the increase of crop
production. They offer a variety of processes that aid in plant growth promotion in an ecofriendly
manner. The use of endophytic bacteria provides a cheaper and cleaner approach
compared to industrial made fertilizers. They also have potential uses in bioremediation to
clean the environment polluted by industrial processes.
Endophytes were isolated and showed significant growth improvement. Each isolate
displayed different morphologies. Isolates were tested for classical growth promotion
mechanisms such as the ability to solubilize phosphate, Indole-3-acetic acid and
siderophore production. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry was
performed to measure the effect of the isolates on the plants nutrient profile.
The isolates were then tested again while the plants were under heavy metal stress to
determine if they were still capable of growth promotion. The plants were then assayed
for cell death using Evans blue and biomass was measured to determine the effect of
vanadium stress. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry was
performed again to assess the change in nutrient profile while under vanadium stress. / 2021-08-31
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6260 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Mia, Junaid |
| Contributors | Keyster, Marshall |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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