Deciphering the Endophytome (Plant-Associated Microbiome) of Indigofera tinctoria,Its Role in Plant Metabolism, and Biotechnological Aspects.

Endophytes are microorganisms that inhabit plant tissues without causing harm and play key roles in plant growth and metabolism. Indigofera tinctoria is an important leguminous plant used for natural indigo dye and medicinal purposes, yet its endophytic microbial community remains poorly explored. Studying its endophytome may uncover beneficial microbes involved in indigo biosynthesis and biotechnological applications.Healthy roots, stems, leaves, and seeds of I. tinctoria will be collected from different agro-climatic regions of Bangladesh. Culturable endophytic bacteria and fungi will be isolated after surface sterilization and identified using morphological and molecular methods. Functional traits such as IAA production, nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and siderophore production will be evaluated. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing will be used to analyze the unculturable endophytic community and functional potential.The endophytic community was highly uneven and dominated by Bacillus species (~65%). The most abundant taxa were Bacillus luti (~24.7%), B. subtilis (~23.3%), and B. cereus (~17.2%). Other taxa contributed less than 5% each, while rare endophytes accounted for ~9.9% of total reads.This study highlights the dominance and functional potential of endophytes in I. tinctoria. Combining culture-dependent and molecular approaches provides a comprehensive understanding of its endophytome and its possible roles in plant metabolism and secondary metabolite production.