FIGURE 3.

Summary of in vitro antagonistic and functional activities displayed by the endophytic bacteria associated with cucurbit seeds, organized by bacterial taxonomy. (A–D) Examples of endophytes that antagonize the growth of pathogens in vitro using the disk diffusion technique. Green squares indicate positive controls (fungicide), while red squares indicate antagonistic endophytes. Shown are antagonism assays for: (A) Phytophthora capsici, (B) Fusarium graminearum, (C) Rhizoctonia solani, and (D) Pythium aphanidermatum. (E,F) Examples of endophytes that display functional traits known to promote host plant defense, specifically: (E) Acetoin and/or diacetyl production (red/pink is a positive result), and (F) RNase activity (clear halo around colony is a positive result). (G) Summary of the bacterial endophytes that display the tested in vitro activities. Each orange highlight denotes the bacterial genus that possesses the greatest number of endophytes that display the corresponding beneficial functional trait (vertical column) in vitro.