Isolation and Identification of grapevine endophytic bacteria in West Azerbaijan province

Grapevine is one of the most important agricultural products in Iran. West Azerbaijan province is considered as one of the biggest production centers of grape in Iran, due to its suitable climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to identify grape endophytic bacteria in West Azarbaijan. In this study, 67 endophytic bacteria were isolated from the stems and roots of grapevines. Then, biochemical properties such as hypersensitive reaction, fluorescent and potato soft rot test and the ability to produce proteases, amylase and gelatinase enzymes were tested. Eleven bacterial isolates were selected for molecular identification and it was found that Bacillus and Pseudomonas are the most abundant genera. According to our knowledge, three species of Stenotrophomonas sp., Bosea lathyri and Frigoribacterium faeni are reported for the first time in Iran as grapevine endophytic bacteria. Also, the antifungal effect of endophytic bacteria on three fungal species i.e. Chaetomium globosum, Cytospora chrysosperma and Fusarium sp. was done by dual culture method and three isolates of GI6 (Priestia sp.), GI43 (Pseudomonas kilonensis) and GI45 (Bacillus sp.) showed the most growth inhibitory properties. Due to the importance of endophytic bacteria, their isolation and identification from different parts of the country seems necessary, as the result, these bacteria can be used in biological control of plant diseases and can be replaced by chemical control.