Sugar Beet Leaf Culturable Endophytic Bacterial Composition from the Major Sugar Beet Growing Areas in the West of Iran

Endophyte bacteria refers to the bacteria that live within plants. Fresh leaves of 23 sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) plants were collected from the west of Iran. After superficial disinfection, endophytic bacteria were isolated from the host tissue. Isolates were grouped based on their whole-cell protein electrophoresis patterns. One representative from each electrotype was selected and its morphological feature characterized according to the standard bacteriological criteria. The 16S rRNA encoding gene from these representatives was amplified using fD1 and rD1 universal primers, subjected to sequencing and aligned in the NCBI. The major occurring fingerprint types (electrotypes) were identified as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (25, 23, and 22 strains respectively). The other minor occurring electrotypes were identified as Streptomyces spp, Acetobacter spp, and Agrobacterium spp. This is the first report of A. calcoaceticus, P. aeruginosa, and S. maltophilia as an endophyte in the leaves of sugar beet.