Exploring The Hidden Realms Of Global Biodiversity: Interesting Endophytic Yeast Flora From Floral Ovaries

Soil is considered the ultimate reservoir of all the microbiota and specifically the yeasts. However their association with different plant organs and at different developmental stages is not fully explored. Although about 1000 yeast species have been identified, exploration of various microhabitats such as plant storage organs, flowers, nectar, and tree sap is expected to yield a large number of novel species, including interesting endophytic yeasts(Carlos & Gabor, 2006). Angiosperms are considered the most diverse group of the plant kingdom comprising of about 250,000 species (Kenrick, 1999). As part of an exhaustive exploration of yeasts associated with angiosperm flowers, specific attention was paid to floral ovaries to detect the presence of endophytic yeast flora. A total of 52 flower species belonging to 25 families were sampled and screened for endophytic yeasts. Altogether ten viable yeast strains were obtained from seven flower species