Endophytic Proteus bacterium from Ethiopian medicinal plant shows antibacterial activity in lab tests
Researchers have isolated a bacterium living inside the roots of Echinops kebericho M., a plant long used in traditional Ethiopian medicine, and found in laboratory tests that its crude extract can inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli and scavenge free radicals. The team, led by Dinku Senbeta with co-authors Aman Dekebo and Seid Mohammed Ebu, collected a healthy root of E. kebericho M. for experimental analysis. Endophytic bacteria, the microorganisms that reside within plant tissues without causing disease, are described in the paper as a promising source of bioactive compounds with potential value to medicine, agriculture and industrial applications. To identify the isolate, the researchers performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing, a standard method for bacterial classification based on a conserved genetic marker. The sequencing showed that the potent isolate clustered with Proteus…