title: Endophytic and rhizospheric bacterial communities isolated from the medicinal plants Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia.
abstract: In this work we analyzed the composition and structure of cultivable bacterial communities isolated from the stem/leaf and root compartments of two medicinal plants, Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench and Echinacea angustifolia (DC.) Hell, grown in the same soil, as well as the bacterial community from their rhizospheric soils. Molecular PCR-based techniques were applied to cultivable bacteria isolated from the three compartments of the two plants. The results showed that the two plants and their respective compartments were characterized by different communities, indicating a low degree of strain sharing and a strong selective pressure within plant tissues. Pseudomonas was the most highly represented genus, together with Actinobacteria and Bacillus spp. The presence of distinct bacterial communities in different plant species and among compartments of the same plant species could account for the differences in the medicinal properties of the two plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.|Agrobiology and Pedology Research Center, Agricultural Research Council, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiellini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maida
authors.affiliation: Trees and Timber Institute National Research Council, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Emiliani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mengoni
authors.affiliation: Agrobiology and Pedology Research Center, Agricultural Research Council, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mocali
authors.affiliation: Agrobiology and Pedology Research Center, Agricultural Research Council, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fabiani
authors.affiliation: Botanical Garden, Casola Valsenio, Italy.
authors.forename: Sauro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biffi
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Careggi University Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maggini
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Careggi University Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gori
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Careggi University Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vannacci
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Careggi University Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Careggi University Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Firenzuoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fani
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D020900:Echinacea / Q000382:microbiology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000382:microbiology*; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012988:Soil Microbiology
keywords: Echinacea angustifolia; Echinacea purpurea; endophytes; medicinal plants; rhizosphere