Patent ID: 9532572
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: A01C,A01N,G01N

Claim:
1. A synthetic combination comprising a purified bacterial population in association with a seed of a cereal agricultural plant, wherein the purified bacterial population comprises a seed bacterial endophyte that is heterologous to the seed, has a 16S nucleic acid sequence that is at least 97% identical to a 16S nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 521, 533, 560, 588, 658, 710, 856 and 1447, and is capable of producing an auxin or acetoin, and wherein the seed bacterial endophyte is present in the synthetic combination at a concentration of at least 10 3 CFU/seed on the surface of a seed and in an amount effective to increase tolerance to drought of a cereal agricultural plant produced from the seed as compared to a reference plant grown under the same conditions.